SASKATOON – A professional wakeboarder from Saskatchewan is still ecstatic about winning gold last week in Toronto. Rusty Malinoski, 31, made his debut at the 2015 Pan Am Games in sparkling fashion.
On July 22, the Humboldt product won gold for Team Canada in men’s wakeboarding with a score of 89.11.
Malinoski says representing his country at his first Pan Am Games was a huge honour and the pressure from being the home country favourite only helped him to push himself to succeed.
“When it came down to the finals, really I just didn’t want to, not that anyone would have been let down if I got second or third or whatever, but I just really wanted to get the win and have that in the books,” said Malinoski, calling from Clermont, Fla.
This wasn’t the first time he’s been a role model in the sport. He’s the first athlete to ever land a 1080 – three complete rotations – in competition, which he did during the 2009 MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour finale in Reno, Nev.
“There’s still lots to be done,” said Malinoski.
At age 13, he was given the opportunity to try wakeboarding and says he was hooked immediately.
“My friend had a board and had the opportunity to try it and I just remember being able to get up the very first try and kind of came a little bit natural to me and I just fell in love with it,” said Malinoski.
“Stoney Lake is where I spent most of my time wakeboarding and I also did quite a bit of wakeboarding in the later years in Saskatoon on the river.”
He grew up playing hockey in the small Saskatchewan city but his love for speed and aerial aerobatics led him to pursue a wakeboarding career in Florida.
“I’ve been professional for so long now, it’s been in my life for so many years now. I guess at the very start, it’s hard to describe, I love everything about it,” said Malinoski.
“You can just never ‘max’ out. I mean, there was always something more to learn or do on your board.”
READ MORE: How Saskatchewan athletes did at 2015 Pan Am Games
Since then, his drive and physical stature has earned him the nickname “Bone Crusher.”
“It was a name given to me a long time ago now, just I’m a lot bigger and physically bigger than most of the other competitors and my riding style that’s a little more aggressive I guess, that’s kind of how I got it,” said Malinoski.
Milanoski says any serious up-and-coming competitors in the province should extend their season by saving up and visiting sunny places where there are year-round wakeboarding opportunities.
“There’s a lot of people that are into wakeboarding in Saskatchewan and my advice is ‘summers are short, so take advantage of it and get as much time behind the boat as you can’,” said Malinoski.
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