The Friday Flyer, September 3, 2010 - Article: Water skier earns double gold at USA Nationals

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Krista Rogers, displaying her skills in trick and slalom, won gold medals in jump and overall at the 2010 USA Water Ski National Championship. Krista, now residing in Carlbad, regularly trains in Canyon Lake, where her parents, Pat and Patti Rogers also are active water skiers.

Water skier earns double gold at USA Nationals

     Canyon Lake native Krista Rogers, 23, daughter of Pat and Patti Rogers of Canyon Lake, won the 2010 USA Water Ski National Jump and Overall Champion titles for her division at the 68th Goode Water Ski National Championships held in August in Wilmington, Illinois.
     Nearly 800 water ski athletes from across the United States competed for national titles in slalom, trick, jumping and overall in their respective age divisions during the seven-day tournament. Advancement to the GOODE Water Ski National Championships – the world’s largest three-event water ski tournament – was primarily earned through placement on the national rankings list.
     Beyond her two gold medals, Rogers also placed second in slalom and fourth in trick, bringing home a medal in all four of the events that she competed in.
     One of the most amazing parts of Rogers’ medal count is the fact she was competing injured, according to USA Waterski spokesperson Aimee Cebulski. Less than a week before the National Championships, she was injured in a training crash, seriously bruising both legs and spraining her right knee.
     Rogers attended Arizona State University in 2004 on an academic and water skiing scholarship and was the 2004 USA Women’s National Jump Champion before a skiing accident in college left her unable to compete for the past five years.
     The 2010 National Championship marks her first national competition since the day that injury sidelined her skiing career, according to Cebulski. In July, Rogers won the 2010 Western Regional Championships in jump, trick and overall and is now ranked third in the world for jump and number two in the world for overall in her age division.
     “If anyone would have told me a few years ago that I would be the Overall Champion at the 2010 National Championships I would have thought they were crazy,” says Krista. “I think that all of my hard work on the water when I was younger prepared me to come back so strong; coming back and competing was a bit like riding a bike, but still it is big surprise to win. I am looking forward to taking it to the next level in 2011.”
     Although she now lives and has a full time career in Carlsbad, Krista still trains with her family here in Canyon Lake. Patti water skis and Pat is an international three-event water ski driver.