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The 20-year-old, on her 11th appearance in the Moomba Masters, captured the bronze medal after accumulating 2215.25 points (pts) for the event held at the Yarra River.
Aliaksandra Danisheuskaya from the United States of America (USA) with 2911.Upts and New Zealand's Sade Ferguson 2477.89pts took gold and silver.
The Malaysian, however, missed out on the podium in the women's open jump event when she finished fifth with a leap of 44.5 metres (m) while sixth in women's open tricks with 5,030pts.
"I'm thrilled to be able to secure third position in the Overall podium. To be realistic the time for me to climb the podium in tricks or in jump can only happen if my training is on an intensive basis. But I could not afford to do that much training for the past six months due to my university studies and exams.
"I will of course keep doing my best and aim to be eventually amongst the world's top ranked waterski athletes in the near future," she said.
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The 19-year-old, who relocated to the United States in January, where she pursues her tertiary education to study psychology at the Florida Southern College, flew to a distance of 46.2m in the final on Monday at the Yarra River in Melbourne.
It was an incredible feat for the Yayasan Sime Darby (YSD) scholar and ambassador who set a new personal best for herself.
And it was even more impressive as she erased her previous best of 41.9m by such a large margin whilst competing on the higher ramp of 165cm for the first time in her career.
The strong effort was however unable to get her onto the podium as she finished fifth with home favourite and world record holder Jacinta Carroll (55.2m) taking the win ahead of USA’s Aliaksandra Danisheuskaya (52.1m) and Canada’s Taryn Grant 48.7m).
But Aaliyah can certainly stand tall as her result has shown that she can also compete among the best in jump and getting a podium finish at the 2023 World Under-21 meet that will be held in Mexico in June has now become a distinct possibility.
“My jump result in Melbourne certainly surprised me as I did not expect to squeeze out that distance in my first competition on the 165cm ramp height,” said Aaliyah.
“It more than compensated for my forgettable tricks performance over the weekend where I only managed a score of 4,460.
“And getting a new PB certainly means a lot to me because a distance of 46.2m was actually targeted for end of 2024 so I have definitely made a huge gain, not only in my overall performance but also because getting podium in jump is now a distinct possibility.”
Aaliyah did however stressed that there is more work to be done and she needs to get herself back on track in training when she heads back to Florida.
“For me I definitely need to strengthen my mental approach as I have found myself a little disorganised trying to balance university and training,” explained Aaliyah.
“I definitely need to be more organised and be mentally tougher to handle anything that comes my way and worry less during competitions.
“But the World Under-21
meet in June has suddenly become a little more interesting for me
after this Moomba run.
“The plan is to peak in June and I do have two more competitions in
Florida in May.
“I am hopeful of
targeting three podium finishes in tricks, overall and now jump but
anything can happen so I’ll need to work very hard and not get
complacent along the way,” she added.
“Photo by: Yen Suen & Anthony Yap”
The 19-year-old Aaliyah who is Yayasan Sime Darby’s scholar and ambassador had enjoyed a highly successful year, capped another high as she scored 7,970 at the Oceania Championships at the Max Kirwan Ski Park Mulwala, New South Wales over the weekend.
Aaliyah's previous Asian record stood at 7,960 and her efforts also saw her come first ahead of Australian duo Erica Hayes and Layne Moroney respectively.
It also turned out to be a strong weekend for Aaliyah as she finished third and fifth in slalom and jump whilst taking top spot in the overall event.
In slalom, she matched her personal best of 4.5/55kmh/12m line in the first round of the competition.
She eventually scored
3/55/12 to finish third behind New Zealand's Meg Harraway and
Australia's Casey Wooderson.
In jump, Aaliyah was not so fortunate as she only managed to finish
fifth after experiencing a strong tailwind when it was her turn to
jump.
Despite leading the pack with a strong 41.3m jump in the first round, she could not improve on that and settled for a distance of 34.3m.
Wooderson won the open women's jump event with fellow Aussie Kristy Appleton in second and Courtney Williams of New Zealand taking third.
That was however enough for Aaliyah to claim the overall win, solidifying her status as an all-rounder skier.
"I'm very satisfied with my performances as I had performed at my best performances in tricks and slalom while near my best in jump," said Aaliyah.
"These results will bode me well in maintaining my world rankings for next year which will be crucial for my seedings in the future IWWF world ranking tournaments."
Meanwhile Aaliyah's brother Aiden Yoong Hanifah did not have a good outing in his open men tricks event when he was knocked out in the first round after his ski broke.
"I had a good first pass which was a toe run and was feeling good. Then in my second pass I fell on the first trick when the ski failed," said a very disappointed Aiden.
Added team manager Danny Choo, "The team worked well together and I'm so happy for Aaliyah who performed at her expected level except for the jump final which was unfortunate for her due to the tail wind gust, " said Danny who also expressed sympathy at Aiden's misfortune.
This is the final event for 2022 for the Malaysian team and Aaliyah summarised her plans for 2023, saying, “I am very grateful to the National Sports Council (NSC) for the chance to do seven events this year after staying out of 2020 and 2021 with no competitions. It had been a year of great progress and great results for me,”
“I will now take one step back and take a one month break from training so that I can take two steps forward from January onwards to prepare for 2023 which I aim to be on the world podium again and this time in the IWWF U21 Waterski World Championships in June in Mexico.”
TEENAGE waterskier Aaliyah Yoong Hanifah can only continue to get better after capping an impressive weekend by sweeping all open women gold medals at stake at the Asian Championships in Chuncheon, South Korea.
The competition marked a return for the first time since 2019 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
And it was the 19-year-old Aaliyah who continued her impressive form this year by seizing four gold medals in all disciplines.
Fresh from her World Games outing where she grabbed bronze in tricks, her first senior medal at the elite stage, Aaliyah continued to show consistency by powering to the tricks gold.
She tallied a total of 7,440 points, just shy of her personal best of 8,080, as she ran away with the gold medal.
Japan’s Harue Kamiya took the silver with 2,670 while South Korea’s Kim Min settled for bronze with 810 points.
And she also comfortably bagged the gold in slalom with a score of 0/55/13, finishing well ahead of South Korea’s Kim Yu Jin (2.5/55/14.25) and Japan’s Moe Sadamizu (4.5/55/16).
She faced a sterner test in jump but she prevailed with a final leap of 40.6m while Kamiya took the silver with a leap of 35.6m. Sadamizu took the bronze with a jump of 32.1m.
Her efforts also saw her finish strongly with the gold medal in the overall category ahead of Kamiya and Kim Min who were second and third respectively.
Her good form is certainly a sign of better things to come especially with the Oceania Championships in Australia in November and with an eye on the World Under-21 Championships next year.
“I’m super excited to have four golds again in the championship this year and this time it is a bit more special,” said Aaliyah who also grabbed four golds in 2019.
“This year’s site had extreme and challenging conditions like strong wind, rain and currents and the tow boat also needed some adapting as I have not trained with this model before.
“Its definitely a much more satisfying achievement as I had to not only beat strong competitors but also to beat the weather elements whilst familiarising myself with an unfamiliar boat.
“The next competition for me with be in November at the Oceania Championships and I am looking to do well again in all four events although my next major target will be the World Under-21 Championships next year with my target a podium finish for tricks and overall,” added Aaliyah who is also the Yayasan Sime Darby ambassador and YSD Star Scholarship recipient..
Meanwhile Aaliyah is not the only one to be doing well as her brothers - Aiden and Adam both fared strongly in their first competition in three years.
Adam, 14, certainly can stand proud after getting the better of Aiden, 16, to snatch gold in the boys’ Under-17 tricks event.
Adam performed consistently across two rounds as he took the gold with a score with a score of 3,230 with Japan’s Jo Nakamura coming in second with 3,020.
Aiden, who is decidedly rusty and having suffered a chest injury prior to the meet, settled for bronze with a score of 2,740.
Adam also did well in jump, leaping to a distance of 27m to take the bronze in the Under-17 category behind Nakamura (39.7m) and Ryuto Kuroda (27.1m).
Aiden did however pick up a second medal, taking bronze in the Under-17 slalom.
He skied to a new personal best of 4.5/58/16, finishing behind Nakamura (3/58/13) and Iran’s Zamaniam Abolfazi (3/58/14.25) respectively.
That helped him to a silver in the overall category as he finished behind Nakamura with Kuroda coming in third.
“It was a tough and challenging competition due to the weather and I commend the mental strength of Aaliyah in withstanding all these factors,” said Malaysian Waterski and Wakeboard Federation (MWWF) head coach Hanifah Yoong.
“Aiden and Adam also did their job well considering they had not competed in the past three years and Aiden also had examinations in June which meant he couldn’t train as much as he would have liked.”
According to the tournament's website http://www.iwwfed-ea.org/classic/22ASIA03/, the 19-year-old captured her first gold medal on Friday after she scored 7,440 points in the women's open tricks event.
Aaliyah then continued her impressive performance in the women's open jump on Saturday as she produced a leap of 40.6 metres (m) in the preliminaries and 37.2m in the final round to capture another gold.
The teenager also was dominant in women slalom with marks of 0.00/55kmh/13m for her third gold and completed her clean sweep by taking the overall title with a total of 3000.00 points for her fourth gold medal the same day.
Malaysian Waterski and Wakeboard
Federation (MWWF) head coach Hanifah Yoong said Malaysia had a total
tally of five gold, a silver and three bronze including in boys
category.
"Four from Aaliyah, one from her brother Adam Yoong in the under-17
(U17) boys' tricks, one silver from Aiden Yoong U17 boys' overall
and three bronzes (Aiden U17 boys' tricks and U17 boys' slalom and
Adam U17 jump.
"Congratulations Malaysia's team," said Hanifah Yoong, who is also
Aaliyah's father.
Adam Yoong also broke new barriers as he set a new personal best
with a distance of 27.0m (in the jump), beating his previous record
of 15.9m, which he set at the 2019 Asian Championships, Bangkok.
Meanwhile, his 16-year-old brother Aiden Yoong erased his previous
record of 20.1m by jumping 23.9m.--BERNAMA
https://www.nst.com.my/sports/others/2022/08/822167/aaliyah-bags-4-gold-medals-south-korea
Aaliyah, who turned 19 yesterday, gave herself a perfect birthday gift after skiing to an outstanding score of 7,960 in the tricks final at the Oak Mountain State Park Lake.
Competing in an elite field of seven skiers, Aaliyah finished behind Canada's Neilly Ross (9,690) and American Anna Gay (9,190) who are the top two skiers in the world.
Earlier, Aaliyah made the five-skier final after posting a score of 6,700 to finish fourth behind Neilly, Anna and Colombia's Daniela Verswyvel in the preliminaries.
Her score in the final was
not far off her personal best of 8,080 set during a warm-up
competition in Florida last month.
This is the first time Aaliyah has gotten onto the podium on the
world stage. Notably, Aaliyah is the first Asian women's skier to
win a medal at world level.
Since bursting onto the
scene as an eight-year-old at the 2011 Sea Games in Palembang,
Aaliyah has now arrived at world level.
Aaliyah has also reached the final of the jump event after recording
41.9m (equalling her PB) to finish fourth in the preliminaries.
American Lauren Morgan led the field with 49.8m followed by Canada's
Taryn Grant (47.7m) and Chile's Valentina Gonzalez (43.6m).
https://www.nst.com.my/sports/others/2022/07/813924/aaliyah-shines-world-stage.
The 18-year-old Yayasan Sime Darby (YSD) ambassador and YSD Star scholarship recipient had headed off to Florida last month to get herself ready for the largest non-Olympic multi-sport that is held once every four years.
It is a top honour for Aaliyah who is only one of eight waterskiers in the world selected to compete in the tricks event at the Games.
She certainly had gotten off to a great start in her preparation as she rewrote all her personal bests in all three disciplines - slalom, tricks and jump during the Fluid Summer Showdown in Florida from June 17-19.
In doing so, she also rewrote the Asian record for both the tricks and slalom which she had held previously.
Aaliyah then continued to show improvement as she rewrote her slalom personal best and Asian record at the June Okee 3 Record Tournament from June 25-26.
Her new slalom mark is
now 4.5/55/12 while her personal best in tricks and jump is now
8,080 and 41.9m respectively.
It certainly puts her in good stead for the World Games where she is
targeting a top five finish in tricks - the only event in which she
is competing in.
Additionally, it is
also a boost for Aaliyah as she has made significant inroads in her
rankings.
She is now ranked a career best 12th in the world in the open
women’s tricks category, from a previous rank of No 14.
In the open women’s overall category, she has also climbed
significantly to be ranked No 11 from a previous rung of No 19.
To top it off, she is now also ranked No 3 in the world for the Under-21 overall category and No 4 in the Under-21 tricks category and it is a handy boost for her in her quest for the Under-21 World Championships next year.
“It has certainly been
a whirlwind past three weeks so far with me breaking the Asian
record four times,” said Aaliyah.
“It’s an achievement to reach 8,080 points in tricks and it just
feels good to improve my slalom record to 4.5/55/12.
“Now I’m just putting my head down and I’m looking to train hard
with my coach Larry (Gisler) and hopefully I can achieve at top five
finish at Birmingham.”
Aaliyah Yoong Hanifah is sponsored by Yayasan Sime Darby, Nautique Boats USA, D3 Skis, Waterski Wakeboard Wakesurf Malaysia, Majlis Sukan Negara Malaysia, Institut Sukan Negara Malaysia & Reflex Water Skis bindings.
The 18-year-old, who has the honour of being one of the selected few athletes for the by-invitation-only World Games, arrived in Florida earlier to get herself prepared where she is currently training under Chilean coach Larry Gisler at the Pickos Waterski School.
And Aaliyah has certainly been impressing after rewriting all her personal bests and set two Asian records in the process at the Fluid Summer Showdown, a ranking tournament that took place in Polk City, Florida from June 17-19,.
In her favourite tricks event, Aaliyah finally broke new barriers as she set a new personal best of 8,080, getting past the 8,000 mark for the first time in an official capacity. This is a pending new Asian record. She achieved that feat as she finished second in the first round, behind United States’ Erika Lang (11,420) before finishing with a 7,300 score in the second round. It was a strong showing as her previous best & Asian record was 7,680 that she last set at the Asian Championships in 2019.
Then in the jump event, Aaliyah continued to show improvements as she produced a leap of 41.9m in the second round, bettering her previous mark of 41.4m that was achieved at the Moomba Masters in Melbourne in March.
Last but not least, Aaliyah also achieved a new best and Asian record number 2 in slalom as she set a new mark of 4/55kmh/12m line in the second round.
It was a fine effort for her as she has not been able to better her previous best of 3/55kmh/12m line that was last achieved four years ago during the World Junior Championships in 2018.
“I’m just so thankful to be able to back training and competing in Florida after a four-year period,” said Aaliyah who is also the Yayasan Sime Darby (YSD) ambassador and YSD Star scholarship recipient.
“This was a pretty chill tournament as everyone was just competing against themselves to improve their personal bests and rankings and there is minimal pressure.
“Its a good environment to be surrounded by so many good skiers and friends and Lake Grew is also one of the most ideal ski lakes in Florida.
“It is a small lake with no rollers and the wind is always almost in the right direction for jump.
“And I felt surprisingly quite relaxed the whole time I was on the water which definitely made me perform better.
“I’m definitely very happy to finally beat my personal best in tricks and to improve a bit more in both my jump and slalom personal bests,” added Aaliyah.
Aaliyah’s performance will certainly do her rankings a world of good especially in tricks where she was last ranked 14th in the world in the open women’s category.
She will proceed to ski in another event, at the June Okee 3-Event Record tournament at West Palm Beach, Florida from June 25-26, before the World Games get underway.
Aaliyah Yoong Hanifah is sponsored by Yayasan Sime Darby Nautique Boats D3 Skis Waterski Wakeboard Wakesurf Malaysia Majlis Sukan Negara Malaysia Institut Sukan Negara Malaysia Reflex Water Skis bindings.
The 18-year-old Malaysian's exploits on the Yarra River earned her the overall gold.
She placed ninth in the slalom, fourth in jump and third in tricks. Aaliyah's versatility saw her amassing a total of 2,668.52 points, ahead of Chile's Valentina Gonzalez (2,323.40) and New Zealand's Courtney Williams (2,082.85) for the overall title.
It was a signifcant success for Aaliyah who recorded her first ever win in the open category, going up against world-class rivals.
It was also a huge step-up
for Aaliyah who had excelled in the tricks for many years before
making inroads in both the slalom and jump.
"It has been an incredible week for me and the highlight has got to
be taking third in open women's tricks," said Aaliyah.
"That happened to be my first world-level podium finish in the open
category, and I'm pleased about that."
Malaysian Waterski and Wakeboard Federation head coach Hanifah Yoong
said: "This is the coming of age acid test for Aaliyah and she
proved her competitiveness at the world level by getting into the
finals of the tricks and jump in the open category.
"She also proved that she is becoming more independent and can
manage an event by herself after traveling to Melbourne on her own."
https://www.nst.com.my/sports/others/2022/03/780423/golden-finish-aaliyah
The 18-year-old picked up where she left off by storming to three gold at the Junior Moomba in Melbourne yesterday.
Aaliyah, whose last competition was the Moomba meet in 2020, clinched gold in the tricks, jump and overall category and a bronze in the slalom on the challenging Yarra River.
Competing in the junior event on her 10th and final year, the teenager got off to a flying start by nailing the gold in the tricks — her pet event. Australian Erica Hayes came in second while Chile's Dominga Gonzalez was third.
In the slalom, Aaliyah
finished behind Australians Lara Butlin and Milla Hunter Bennett
respectively. She, however, saved the best for last as she
splendidly claimed the jump gold with a new personal best. American
Elizabeth Hall won silver while Australia's Kristy Appleton took
bronze.
Aaliyah's two gold and one bronze was enough to secure her the
overall gold with a total score of 2,891.89 with Australians Bennett
(2,032.98) second and Butlin (1,980.36) third respectively.
"I love competing in
the Moomba Masters and it is one of my favourite events in the
world," said Aaliyah.
With the junior event now done and dusted, Aaliyah will move on to
the open category where she will look to improve on her previous
results.
https://www.nst.com.my/sports/others/2022/03/778919/hat-trick-moomba-gold-aaliyah
Teenage waterskier Aaliyah Yoong Hanifah is back with a bang after a two-year lapse.
The 18-year-old missed two years of action as her competition plans took a heavy beating because of the Covid-19 disruptions.
However, Aaliyah has picked up where she left off by storming to an impressive three-gold haul at the Junior Moomba in Melbourne yesterday.
Aaliyah, whose last competition was also at the Moomba meet in 2020, claimed gold in tricks, jump and the overall category on the challenging Yarra River venue.
To top it off, she also performed above expectations by bagging bronze in the slalom event.
Competing in the junior event for her 10th and final year, the spunky teenager got off to a flying start as she nailed the gold in tricks – her pet event.
Aaliyah, who sat on top of the leaderboard after posting 5,030 points in the first round, scored 6,780 to finish ahead of the field.
Australian Erica Hayes came second with 5,690 while Chile’s Dominga Gonzalez was third with a distant 3,580.
In slalom, Aaliyah who was placed fifth after the first round, rose to the challenge with a clearance of 3/55/13 (three buoys/55kmh/13m rope) to finish behind Australians Lara Butlin (1/55/12) and Milla Hunter Bennett (4/55/13) respectively.
She would save the best for last, coming out with guns blazing to claim the jump gold with a new personal best.
Aaliyah had already smashed her own personal best and the national record with a leap of 39.5m in the first round on Wednesday.
She did even better this time, cracking the 40m mark with a leap of 41.4m for the win.
American waterskier Elizabeth Hall was second with 33.5m while Australia’s Kristy Appleton came third with 30.9m.
Aaliyah’s two golds and the bronze was enough to secure her the overall gold with a total score of 2,891.89 points with Australians Bennett (2,032.98) and Butlin (1,980.36) in second and third respectively.
She was pleased to end her participation in the junior ranks on a high note.
“I love competing in the Moomba Masters and its definitely one of my favourite and one of my top events in the world.
“I definitely love the challenge on the Yarra River and it is huge to get a personal best in jump in my 10th year here as 41.4m is huge for me,” she said.
Malaysian Waterski and Wakeboard Federation (MWWF) head coach Hanifah Yoong added that Aaliyah’s performance was indeed a surprise.
“Aaliyah continues to surprise and her performance the past two days showed how strong she is now, both physically and mentally.
“It is not easy to compete in three events in both the junior and open category because it means you are competing on the water for more than 12 times in just six days.”
With the junior event done and dusted, Aaliyah will move on to compete in the open category where she will look to make her mark as well.
Waterskier Aaliyah Yoong Hanifah is ready to get back into action after a two-year lapse.
The 18-year-old's last competition was at the Moomba Masters in Melbourne, Australia, in 2020 before the Covid-19 outbreak.
Now, two years later, Aaliyah is set to go back to where she last left off — the Moomba Masters on March 9-14.
Aaliyah said she is excited to participate in the Moomba event, which is an invitation-only competition for the world's top skiers.
It will also be her 10th time participating in the competition since her debut in 2013 at the age of nine.
Aaliyah will feature in the tricks, slalom and jump events in both the junior and open categories.
She aims to improve on her 2020 result, where she won just the tricks gold in the junior category.
"Two years have been a long time. I hope that I am not competition rusty after being out of it for so long," said Aaliyah.
With this being Aaliyah's last year in the junior category, she hopes to go out with a bang with an eye on the top prize in the tricks and overall.
She is also targeting a podium finish in the jump event.
In the tricks open category, the youngster is aiming for a top five finish with her previous best a seventh place
https://www.nst.com.my/sports/others/2022/03/777823/aaliyah-set-moomba-return
MALAYSIAN teen Aaliyah Yoong Hanifah made history by becoming the first Asian waterskier to win a Moomba Masters title in 60 years.
The 16-year-old won her first-ever top-of-podium spot in the junior girls tricks of the famous pro waterski event, after having mounted the podium twice, in second and third placing, in past years.
She scored 6,900 points, finishing on top of the leaderboard with Australian duo Sade Ferguson (5,770) and Tayla Simmonds (5,710) in second and third place, respectively.
It is a first-ever winner’s trophy for Aaliyah since making her debut in the Moomba in 2013 when she was nine years old.
In jump, Aaliyah also bagged a first-ever trophy after she came in second with an effort of 36.5m to finish second.
Ferguson eventually won the event with a score of 40.1m, while American Alyssa Drake came in third with 33.3m.
Aaliyah also finished strongly in slalom, placing fifth with a run of 1.5/55/12 despite being seeded eighth.
Those three events combined gave her a total of 2,716.25 for a second-place finish in the overall event, just behind Ferguson who tallied 2,836.23 while Australia’s Layne Moroney came in third with 1,948.51.
It was certainly mission accomplished for Aaliyah despite the inclement weather as she improved on her two silver trophies from 2019.
“I’m thrilled to have finished with one win and two seconds and I’m definitely looking forward to the open category which continues this weekend through to Monday,” said Aaliyah.
Malaysian Waterski and Wakeboard Federation (MWWF) head coach Hanifah Yoong was also pleased with Aaliyah’s achievements.
“She managed to achieve all her objectives.
“It’s a first top of the podium for her here and a first jump trophy while also taking her second overall trophy by coming in second.
“On top of that, she will also move up the overall ranking and this will also ensure she will start in series 1 in the August 2020 Junior World Championship in Florida for all disciplines,” said Hanifah.
Read more at https://www.thestar.com.my/sport/community-sports/2020/03/10/aaliyah-stamps-her-mark-down-under
Aaliyah Yoong Hanifah has crowned herself as the queen of waterski in Asia after she swept all four women’s gold medals at the Asian Waterski and Wakeboard Championships in Bangkok.
The 16-year-old was unstoppable as she skied her way to the slalom, jump and overall golds at the TE Wake N Ski in Bang Sai yesterday.
On Saturday, she took the gold in the tricks final.
By sweeping all four events, she etched herself into the history books as the first woman to achieve the feat.
In the slalom final yesterday, Aaliyah scored 4/55/13 ahead of second-placed Thai Weeraya Rosendahl’s 3/55/13.
South Korean Han Ah-reum finished third with 2.50/55/13.
It was more challenging in the jump final as she overcame a rough start before completing a jump of 37.8m to bag the gold, just enough to edge her Japanese opponents Harue Kamiya (37.5m) and Moe Sadamizu (36.6m).
By finishing top in all three finals, Aaliyah automatically took the overall gold to make it four.
“It’s a dream come true for me, because I have never won more than a medal here before and to come here and sweep everything is really special, ” said Aaliyah.
“I’m super happy with my achievement here especially in the jump because it was really touch and go but overall, I’m satisfied with my performance throughout.”
Malaysian waterski darling Aaliyah Yoong Hanifah is on course for a clean sweep of four gold medals at the Asian Waterski and Wakesport Championships.
The 16-year-old has qualified for the tricks, slalom and jump finals in spectacular fashion after finishing tops in the preliminary rounds of all the three events at the TE Wake N Ski in Bang Sai just outside of Bangkok, Thailand over the last two days.
If she can maintain the same form in all three events, she is a shoo-in to bag the overall title as well.
Aaliyah gets into action in the tricks final today and slalom and jump finals tomorrow.
Her previous record was 7,440 points en route to finishing ninth in the final of the World Waterski Championships in Putrajaya last month to become the first Asian to compete in the final.
In the slalom preliminaries, she set a pace of 2/55/12 to break the long-standing 18-year Asian Championship record. The previous mark was a 5/55/13 that was set by South Korea’s Kim Key-young back in 2001.
In the jump, she impressed with a score of 36.9m on Thursday.
“It’s definitely the start that I expected. My goal in the preliminaries was to try and get a new personal best so I’m glad to get that down early, ” said Aaliyah.
“It’s been hard to stay consistent by doing over 7,000 points for the past two years but I’m with that development.”
If her form at the world meet last month is to be a yardstick for the Asian meet, Aaliyah is likely to take home all four gold medals.
The teenage prodigy bagged the Best Asian category awards in all four events – tricks, slalom, jump and overall – in Putrajaya.
Meanwhile Aaliyah’s younger brothers Aiden and Adam bagged home medals in the junior Under-17 events.
The 13-year-old Aiden won the Under-17 tricks gold medal and overall bronze while 11-year-old Adam grabbed the bronze in the Under-17 tricks event on Wednesday.
PUTRAJAYA: Aaliyah Yoong ended her maiden appearance in the World Waterski Championships in style by lowering her own Asian record en route to a respectable top 10 finish in the women’s tricks final in Putrajaya.
The ever-smiling Aaliyah fell at the end of her routine but it was good enough to see her finish ninth, earning 7, 440 points on her scorecard to better the Asian record of 7, 320 points she set in the preliminaries on Friday.
The 16-year-old, who has been tipped as a huge talent for the future in the discipline, said she could not have asked for more in the final featuring the top 12 skiers in the world.
“I’m really happy with my performance today (yesterday) although I fell and did not get my last two tricks in, ” said Aaliyah.
“For me to exceed 7, 000 points twice in a row is amazing and I hope to be more consistent in the future.
“I actually felt more nervous in the preliminaries because it was my first time on the water for the tricks event here and I really wanted to make the final.
“I also had a bit of an advantage here because this is my home ground. I’ve been here for 11 years, so I know how it is, ” said Aaliyah, who also finished 10th in the women’s overall category with a score of 1, 984.63 points.
Aaliyah, who is only ranked 35th in the world, is hoping to improve in all three disciplines – tricks, slalom, jump – and possibly challenge for a podium position at the world meet in the near future.
“Tricks is my main event but I want to be a good skier overall. I actually like doing all three disciplines.
“I’m still quite far from a podium position at the moment. I still have a few more steps to go but hopefully, it will be achievable in the near future.”
Anna Gay reclaimed the gold medal she last won in 2015 for United States in women’s tricks after putting up a huge score of 10, 530 points.
The silver went to Peru’s Natalia Cuglievan, who scored 9, 570 while Germany’s Giannina Bonnemann took the bronze with 8, 740 points.
The 2013 winner Erika Lang, the world record holder from United States, fell in both her passes to finish with a score of 3, 710 points in 12th spot while 2017 winner Neilly Ross of Canada suffered a big tumble on her second pass to finish with only 5, 840 points in 11th spot.
Canada’s Whitney McClintock-Rini grabbed the overall gold with a score of 2, 569.21 points, dethroning three-time overall champion Regina Jaquess of US in the process.
The silver went to Belarus skier Hanna Straltsova (2, 465.71) and American Brooke Baldwin took the bronze (2, 448.92).
Read more at https://www.thestar.com.my/sport/others/2019/08/19/eureka-for-aaliyah#uMW53vjPwZI8HFgB.99
PUTRAJAYA - The IWWF Waterski World Championships that is due to start from Aug 13-18 in Putrajaya promises a lot of thrilling excitement on the water.
Action on the water aside, the Malaysian Waterski and Wakeboard Federation (MWWF) is also going the extra mile to ensure that spectators and participants will enjoy a full package of entertainment at the Putrajaya Lake.
That is because a carnival - ‘Adventure Carnival’ - with food, live entertainment and fun for the whole family is being organised at the Water Sport Complex, Precinct 6 from Aug 15-18 that is in conjunction with the world meet.
With the water sport complex located just right next to the grand stands of the competition, it will be the perfect opportunity for families to jump into the fun whilst enjoying the world-level water skiing.
Apart from the various food and merchandise booths, a host of local celebrities such as Anne Abdullah, Zarina Zainuddin, Aidil Aziz and Zakiah Anas will also be making special appearances.
There will also be live musical performances by Ayu Damit, Shidi Data and Fredo Flybaits among others while clowns, stilt walkers and magicians will be making their rounds entertaining children.
An inflatable park and petting zoo will also be made available for younger children and there are games with prizes worth up RM12,000 are certain to keep the entire family entertained.
“The objective of the carnival is to encourage the public to come in droves to support our national team and the waterski sport in whole and at the same time to take this opportunity to indulge in the moment of food, fun, and excitement,” said MWWF vice president Alex Yoong.
The Malaysian team will be spearheaded by Aaliyah Yoong Hanifah and her two younger brothers - Aiden Yoong Hanifah and Adam Yoong Hanifah. The fourth member of the team is Nadiah Nasir.
A host of world class skiers have already confirmed their participation in this world meet with the likes of world champions Adam Pickos, Freddy Krueger and Regina Jacques from the United States among the star attractions.
Other top skiers in the mix includes Canada’s Ryan Dodd, Neilly Ross, Belarus’ Aliaksei Zharnasek and Australia’s Jacinta Carroll.
The world meet is hosted and supported by the Putrajaya Corporation, the Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau, an agency under the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, the Ministry of Youth and Sports and Nautique Boats USA.
The Adventure Carnival on the other hand is jointly organised by the Waterski & Wakeboard World Cup Sdn Bhd and AEM Adventure Events & Management PLT.
Admission is free for all spectators with the preliminary rounds to start from Tuesday, Aug 13 to Friday, Aug 16. The finals will be held on the Aug 17-18 weekend.
WITH less than two weeks to go before the start of the IWWF Waterski World Championship at Putrajaya, the final touches are being done to ensure the venue is brought up to world-level skiing condition.
The Malaysian Waterski and Wakeboard Federation (MWWF), in collaboration with Putrajaya Corporation (PPJ), have spent the last four weeks upgrading the ski site to ensure that skiers for the world meet from Aug 13-19 will have a smoother experience on the water.
The Putrajaya Lake is arguably one of the best ski sites in the world in terms of infrastructure.
The only setback, if any, is that the water condition there is not the best as the water tends to get rough and choppy from the winds, and also due to the backwash coming back to the ski course after each pass of the tow boat at the stadium site.
In order to minimise backwash, the MWWF, with the assistance of Putrajaya Corporation, have installed two significant upgrades at the ski site.
The first is the laying of rocks along the shoreline of the stadium.
This is to help boat wakes arriving on the shores have the energy removed and not come back into the ski course when the competition gets underway.
The second is the installation of a windbreaker system. It is made of hard wood in 34 segments linked together for a total of 150m long for the far end of the 350m long slalom course that is exposed to winds from east of the open area. The windbreaker system floats just above the water level of the lake and “kills” the waves created from the wind from crossing into the ski course.
This is the second major upgrade on the site which was improved once by implementing a backwash system on the vertical walls of the Marina Putrajaya during the 2017 Sea Games.
The IWWF representative, Larry Gisler, who will be the assistant chief judge for the World Championships, said the upgrades have certainly improved the Putrajaya waterski venue.
“I’ve been coming to Malaysia every year since 2008 and we have done a lot of upgrades for the Sea Games and now this world meet,” said the Chilean who has also served to develop Malaysian waterski and is coaching the Malaysian team prior to the start of the World Championships.
“The water becomes rough from wind conditions and backwash, so the rocks are in place to ensure that when the waves hit it, it stays there. This will make the surface of the water more calm.
“Right now we certainly have the best condition for the championships. I would say the site is now world record condition and it would be nice to see some world records broken in two weeks time,” he said.
Leading Malaysian waterskier, Aaliyah Yoong Hanifah gave her thumbs up at the upgrades done on the site.
“The ski site has definitely improved over the years. With the rocks and the windbreakers, there are now less rollers and the water is not as choppy as before,” said Aaliyah.
“Training-wise, I’ve been doing better since Larry got here. I think this will be a good tournament for the world’s top waterski athletes and I am certainly excited to set some new Malaysian records and maybe even get an Asian record or two.”
The 2019 IWWF Waterski World Championship is hosted by Putrajaya Corporation, and supported by Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau, an agency under the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, the Ministry of Youth and Sports and Nautique Boats USA.
The New Straits Times is the official paper of the IWWF Waterski World Championship.
AALIYAH AIMING FOR TOP 20 IN IWWF WATERSKI WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS IN PUTRAJAYA
PUTRAJAYA - Aaliyah Yoong Hanifah has come so far in the world of waterski since bursting onto the scene in 2011.
As a pre-teen, she has already demonstrated huge amounts of potential when she won the SEA Games gold medal for tricks at the age of 8.
It would be the first of her many major victories and it certainly set her down the path in professional water skiing.
In the eight years since, Aaliyah has accumulated a lot of achievements, including becoming an Asian Oceanian champion in 2014 and is also a 9-time Asian champion not only in her pet event of tricks but now also in jump and overall.
Now 15-years-old, Aaliyah is slowly but surely moving up on the world stage and there is no better platform to show what’s she’s made of at the 2019 IWWF World Waterski Championships for the open category that will be held on home ground in Putrajaya from August 13-19.
The teenager can certainly draw on past experience as she looks to make a good impression against the world’s best skiers.
In fact, Aaliyah is already quite a ‘veteran’ in competing at the world meet.
She made her debut at the World Championships in Dubna, Russia in 2011 and also competed in the 2013 edition that was held in Santiago, Chile.
She achieved her best result at the open world meet at her third attempt - the 2015 edition that was held in Guadalajara, Mexico where she came in 24th in tricks, when still only 13 years old, against a top level field of adult open skiers.
Aaliyah gave the 2017 edition a miss in order to concentrate on the SEA Games that Malaysia hosted as she also honing her skills as three-event skier.
But she’s more prepared than ever to put up a strong showing in August, which would be her fourth world meet.
With a personal best of 7,600 points, achieved in 2017, Aaliyah is more than capable of finishing in the top 20 or better for the first time.
In fact that is also her goal as she is also currently ranked No. 20 in the world with an average score of 6,880, becoming the first ever Malaysian woman to scale such heights.
It won’t be an easy task as the best skiers in the world such as Americans Erika Lang and Anna Gay as well reigning world champion Neilly Ross of Canada are all expected to make the trip to Malaysia.
Aaliyah will however draw confidence from the fact that she’s been putting up a good showing of late in tricks, judging by her run at the Junior Moomba in March.
Then she put up a score of 7,230 to take the silver behind Ross and it will surely serve in good stead for the worlds in August.
The 2019 IWWF World Waterski Championship in Malaysia is hosted and sponsored by the Putrajaya city and co-sponsored by Ministry of Tourism & Culture, Ministry of Youth & Sports and Nautique Boats of USA.
Teenage water skier Aaliyah Yoong Hanifah put up a strong showing in tricks to earn her best ever showing to date with two medals at the Junior Moomba in Melbourne.
The 15-year-old skier bounced back strongly following two falls at the Oceania Waterski Championships in Latrobe last week to post up a score of 7,230 points at the Yarra River on Thursday.
It was not too far off her personal best mark of 7,600 and she settled for silver behind world tricks champion, top seed and favourite Neilly Ross of Canada, who raked in 8,790 points. Chile's Josefa Gonzalez finished third with 4,880 points.
The silver medal finish also means Aaliyah equaled her efforts from 2014 and 2015. Both times she took home the silver in tricks as well.
But this year, Aaliyah will certainly be pleased with herself knowing that she will return with at least two medals.
This is because she also settled for silver in the overall event, with a total of 2,668.74 points.
Australia's junior world champion Sade Ferguson won the overall gold courtesy of also winning the slalom and jump events for an overall total of 2,677.73 points.
It was a close miss for Aaliyah and she will certainly rue her chances of finishing on top of the podium at the Moomba event for the first time since her debut in 2013.
Unfortunately she only managed an eighth placed finish in slalom with 5.5/55/14.25 and narrowly missed out on finishing third in jump after producing a distance of 35m.
Ferguson took the jump gold with a 40m distance while New Zealand's Lily Meade was second with 38m.
A second Aussie - Molly Ferguson, who is Sade's older sister, was third with a 36.7m.
If Aaliyah had made the podium in the jump she would have beaten Sade to the overall gold medal.
Nevertheless it is still an excellent result for Aaliyah who is surely on track to challenge for a podium finish at the World Junior Championships in 2020.
“I am very happy that I am able to match the jump world junior champion Sade in overall as she is the favourite for the world junior title in 2020. That is the yardstick I am aiming for,” said Aaliyah.
“Losing gold in overall to Sade by a mere few points shows that I am certainly able to challenge for the overall world junior title next year.”
Malaysian Waterski and Wakeboard Federation (MWWF) head coach Hanifah Yoong added that Aaliyah has come within striking distance of Sade and Kennedy Hansen of the US, who are the top two junior skiers in the world right now.
“She showed at the Junior Moomba that she is not only a contender for the world junior tricks title but also in overall,” said Hanifah who is also Aaliyah’s father.
“She has certainly come a long way in progressing in both jump and slalom in addition to her tricks discipline.
“She is expected to be ranked No. 3 in overall behind Kennedy and Sade at the 2020 world juniors so she has to stay within striking distance for all three disciplines of jump, slalom and tricks.
“As for tricks, she is already No. 2 behind Kennedy so she certainly stands a chance at the world junior title next year.”
Aaliyah, who is a student with the Nexus International School, will now take a break in order to focus for her IGCSE exams in May.
She will return to intensive training after May and her next major event will be the Waterski World Championships that is held in Putrajaya in August.
Aaliyah’s participation in the Nautique Moomba Masters is supported by the National Sports Council of Malaysia, Putrajaya Corporation, Nautique Boats and D3 Skis of USA.
MELBOURNE - Siblings Aaliyah and Aiden Yoong Hanifah are off to a smashing start to the 2019 calendar after podium finishes at the Oceania Waterski Championships.
The 15-year-old Aaliyah continued to make her mark as three-event skier as she finished with one win and two seconds at Latrobe, 2 hours from Melbourne on Sunday.
The triple gold medallist from the 2017 KL SEA Games snatched a win in her pet event - tricks despite falling way off her personal best score 7,600 points.
Aaliyah, who was trying to incorporate new tricks into her run, posted up a score of 4,340 in the final which was still an improvement from the 3,660 she posted in the first round.
Although it wasn’t a very good score, it was still enough for her to squeeze home the gold ahead of Australians Sade Ferguson (3,940) and Layne Moroney (3,930).
Aaliyah however will be pleased with her efforts in both slalom and jump in which she finished with silver, twice behind Ferguson.
For slalom, she ramped up a run of 0.5/55/12 behind Ferguson’s run of 4.5/55/12 while she had a distance of 37.8m in jump. Ferguson narrowly took the top spot with a distance of 41.5m.
Aaliyah however will be exceptionally pleased with her effort in jump especially since she broke her own national record during the first round on Saturday. Then she flew a distance of 38.9m to erase the previous record of 35.6m.
“This weekend’s performance was fulfilling for two events - slalom and jump, but a bummer in tricks,” said Aaliyah.
“It’s my first time doing a new 6-flip sequence in a tournament that starts off with a big trick. It’s probably not the best trick to start off with and I’ll go with a smaller point flip in the future.
“Fortunately this tournament is just a practice before the Moomba Masters event next week which is my main objective.”
While Aaliyah had a mixed bag of results, 13-year-old Aiden was grinning from ear-to-ear after a top notch showing in men’s tricks all weekend.
Aiden, the middle sibling, had always fallen short in competitions especially against his younger brother Adam who had stolen ahead by winning the SEA Games gold in 2017.
There was no stopping Aiden this time as he went on a record breaking run, not once but twice.
First he put a score of 5,520 during the first round on Saturday to erase Adam’s national record score of 4,750 points.
Not contented, Aiden came back out during the final to put up a run of 5,680 points, rewriting the record for the second time in a matter of days.
To put the icing on the cake, he also finished with a bronze medal behind Australians Archie Davis (8,680) and Patrick Crisp (7,030).
The 11-year-old Adam on the other hand wasn’t too far behind as he notched 4,310 points in the final, an improvement from his 4,000 points the previous day, to settle for fourth place.
“I’ve waited more than 18 months for this. It is sweet to finally beat Adam’s national record in open men’s tricks,” said Aiden.
Aaliyah and her father cum coach Hanifah Yoong will continue to stay on in Australia where Aaliyah is due to compete at the prestigious Moomba Masters from March 6-11.
The trip down under was made possible with support from the Malaysian Ministry of Youth & Sports with MWWF’s chief coach Hanifah saying, “Team Malaysia Waterski this year again has the support of the National Sports Council of Malaysia for the 2019 training and competition programme and we look forward to see our athletes continue to improve in the world rankings.”
Other sponsors are Nautique Boats of USA, D3 Skis, Perbadanan Putrajaya and WWWC.
PUTRAJAYA - Teenager Aaliyah Yoong Hanifah has been invited again to participate in 2019 Moomba Masters held in the city of Melbourne scheduled for the 6th to the 11th of March 2019.
This will be the 7th appearance in the Moomba Masters for the 15 year old Aaliyah who made her debut in 2013 when she was a mere 9 year old competing in the junior Moomba for U18 girls.
Aaliyah had ascended the podium three times in the junior Moomba girls tricks event when she finished 2nd in 2014, 2nd again in 2015 and 3rd in 2017. Her highest placement in the pro-women tricks event was 8th.
She is looking forward to get up on the junior girls podium again this year in another 2 disciplines of jump and overall besides her pet event of tricks. Aaliyah is seeded no. 2 in girls tricks, no. 4 in girls jump and no. 12 in girls slalom.
In pro-women tricks Aaliyah is seeded no. 12 in a star studded field which include 8 present and past world champions. World champions invited for the pro women tricks include Erika Lang and Anna Gay from USA, Neilly Ross & Whitney McClintock from Canada, Natallia Bernikava from Belarus, Jacinta Carroll from Australia.
For warm up Aaliyah is also slotted to participate in the 2019 Oceanian championships scheduled for the 2nd and 3rd March in Latrobe city 2 hours out of Melbourne. Her siblings Aiden Yoong Hanifah, 13 and 2017 SEA Games gold medallist, Adam Yoong Hanifah, 11 will join Aaliyah in the Oceanian championships.
The 3 Malaysian national waterski athletes will depart for Melbourne with their coach and father Hanifah Yoong next week on the 26 February.
Hanifah said, “Aaliyah has improved in all her 3 disciplines of tricks, slalom & jump in training past months. Especially so in jump which will put her in a strong position to have two chances for world championship podiums besides tricks in the years to come,”
“The near term target is for her to be a junior world champion in 2020 but Aaliyah has to juggle his waterski career with her studies as this year is also her IGCSE exam year for the year 11 student of Nexus International School in Putrajaya.”
Aaliyah agrees it’s tough for her this year but, “I am going to try not to compromise my studies just for the sport and will very work hard in both. I am not alone in this as all young athletes on the way up go through this phase of important exams in schools.”
Malaysia’s waterski sweetheart, Aaliyah Yoong Hanifah put up a commendable performance to finish in fourth place in the tricks events in the 2018 World Junior Waterski Championships in Madrid, Spain on Sunday.
The 2017 Kuala Lumpur SEA Games triple gold medallist accumulated 5,790 points to secure fourth place among 12 finalists in the event.
It was a major improvement for the 15-year-old teenager, who failed to make the cut in the 2016 edition in Santiago, Chile.
Neilly Ross of Canada led from start to finish to claim the gold with 9,570 points, Kennedy Hansen of the United States took the silver with 7,750 points while Daniela Verswyvel of Colombia settled for bronze after amassing 6,120 points.
Despite failing to score a podium finish, Aaliyah was still pleased with her performance at the meet.
“I have to say that I’m pretty satisfied with my performance as I broke personal bests and records in the jump and slalom events,” said Aaliyah, who set a new national mark of 35.9m in the jump and a new Asian open record in slalom with 3.0 buoys/55kph/12m.
“It was basically the best I could have done in both those events. Tricks on the other hand didn’t go so well, but overall, I’m still happy with a fourth place finish in tricks and fifth overall,” added Aaliyah.
Malaysian Waterski and Wakeboard Federation (MWWF) head coach Hanifah Yoong also praised Aaliyah’s incredible performance, adding that the latter would now be focusing to improve her tricks.
“Concentrating on jump and slalom in the last 12 months took a toll on her tricks. We’ve got to get back to basics in training in the tricks.We’ll be concentrating on tricks more now whilst also balancing slalom and jump but at a slower pace,” Hanifah said.
Hanifah on behalf of MWWF also thanked the National Sports Council Malaysia (NSC) for the financial support and also the Putrajaya Corporation (PPj) for providing excellent waterski training facilities in Putrajaya.
Meanwhile Aaliyah’s two younger brothers - Aiden, 12, and Adam, 10, also displayed a creditable outing in Madrid where Aiden finished overall 25th in tricks with a score of 3,520 while Adam, the national record holder and SEA Games gold medallist, placed 17th with a score of 4,410.
Read more at https://www.malaymail.com/s/1659393/aaliyah-finishes-fourth-in-world-junior-waterski-championships
Hats off to teenager Aaliyah Yoong Hanifah. The 14-year-old added another feather to her growing list of achievements when she bagged a first-ever podium finish with a silver in the tricks event at the prestigious Nautique Waterski US Junior Masters at the Callaway Gardens in Atlanta.
Aaliyah, a triple gold medallist at the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games last year, had taken second spot in the first round with a score of 6,530 points which was good enough for her to make the top-three skiers for the final on Saturday.
Aaliyah then stayed consistent when it mattered to produce a final score of 6,400 points, behind Canada’s Paige Rini who finished with 8,020.
It was just shy of her season best of 6,960 and her national record of 7,600 but it was enough to secure her a second-place finish after American Kristen Baldwin could only manage 5,570.
Aaliyah, who missed out on podium finishes in 2016 and 2017, was certainly pleased with her effort.
“I’m quite satisfied with my runs because I managed to stand up on my first pass, which is the toes tricks, in both the first and final rounds.
“I did fall on my last trick which was the fifth flip and it’s something that I’m still not so consistent enough yet.
“It was a bummer but I’m still so happy to even get into the final in the first place and finishing second was certainly a bonus for me.
“Overall it’s quite a motivating result as now, I just want to aim higher and higher.
“I also couldn’t do this alone and I want to thank Nautique, Cory Pickos with whom I’ve trained with the past month, my family, friends and my sponsors who have supported me and gotten me here,” added Aaliyah from the US.
Malaysian Waterski and Wakeboard Federation (MWWF) head coach Hanifah Yoong was also stoked by Aaliyah’s showing.
“She is eligible for four more years in the junior masters and she may even qualify to be invited for three events (tricks, slalom and jump) next year,” said Hanifah.
“The target is for her to win the junior tricks next year so hopefully she can move up to the pro women’s level in two or three years time.”
The successful US Junior Masters outing concludes the national team’s month-long stint in the US.
They have been based at the Cory Pickos ski school since the end of April and also competed at the Florida Inboards Records tournament two weeks earlier.
Then 10-year-old Adam Yoong Hanifah had taken the limelight by winning the boys’ Under-13 tricks event with a new national men’s tricks record of 4,750 points.
If all goes well, waterski could produce a world champion for Malaysia in Aaliyah Yoong in the next five years.
Malaysian Waterski and Wakeboard Federation (MWWF) head coach and chairman of development committee Hanifah Yoong predicted that Aaliyah would have her first shot for a world junior title in 2020 in the Under-17 category.
“Aaliyah turns 15 in July this year. She actually has a good shot for a podium spot in this year’s IWWF (International Waterski and Wakeboard Federation) Under-17 World Championship, which will be held in Madrid, Spain, in August,” said Hanifah.
“From then on, she’ll aim for the world open women’s title in 2021 and 2023 world championships. I believe she’ll achieve it by the 2023 edition,” he said.
Hanifah added Aaliyah thrived on pressure based on her ability to exceed targets.
“She has often re-adjusted targets set for herself since she turned 12. She always set higher goals,” said Hanifah. “Aaliyah seemed to relish on being under pressure as shown recently in the 2017 SEA Games. She delivered three gold medals although the target was only two.”
Meanwhile, Hanifah added that the IWWF were actively pushing for waterski and wakeboard to be included in the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games programme.
“The MWWF development programme is supported by the National Sports Council and National Sports Institute and we thank them for their valuable contribution, without which we would not have progressed to this stage.
“We hope that the Olympic Council of Malaysia will also push for and support the initiative by IWWF to have waterski and wakeboard be included in the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games. We’ll have a gold medal potential from Aaliyah by then.”
Read more at https://www.thestar.com.my/sport/other-sport/2018/01/16/aaliyah-will-have-first-shot-at-world-junior-title-in-2020/
The four-gold haul highlights just how much potential Malaysia has in water ski.
Aaliyah Yoong Hanifah is the golden girl of water ski.
She broke into the limelight six years ago – aged eight – by winning the tricks event to become Malaysia’s youngest ever SEA Games gold medallist.
But even Aaliyah, now 14, could not have imagined herself finishing with three golds and a silver.
She had the worst possible start, coming down with high fever just two days before competition started.
Despite being half-fit and posting rather average scores, it was still more than enough for her to blow her rivals away for the women’s overall gold.
That set the pace for her as she slalomed to a silver and also easily took home gold in tricks.
The best surprise came in jump, where she turned the tables on defending champion Rossi Amir of Indonesia with a 32.6m effort.
She even broke older sister Phillipa Yoong’s 23-year national record (32.2m) with a jump of 32.8m during the preliminary round.
Aaliyah now has a year to prepare for the World Junior Water Ski Championships in Spain next August.
“For me the SEA Games is my last tournament for the year. The season is over for me. I’m looking to relax a bit,” said Aaliyah.
“My target next year will be the world juniors. I’m definitely hoping to do well there.”
Aaliyah is not the only star from the Hanifah family.
Nine-year-old brother Adam was equally dazzling as he put up a cool and composed display that belied his age to take the men’s tricks gold.
“I’m really proud of my skiers. They were under a lot of pressure but showed really good attitude, especially Adam,” said Malaysia Waterski and Wakeboard Federation (MWWF) head coach Hanifah Yoong.
“He’s just a cool kid who doesn’t think too much. He knows he just needs to do his best when he goes out there.
Water skiing is the sport of choice in the Hanifah Yoong household.
It’s not surprising then to see the youngest member of the family – nine-year-old Adam Yoong Hanifah – keep the proud tradition going by claiming a completely unexpected SEA Games gold in the men’s tricks.
Defending champion Febrianto Kadir of Indonesia ruled himself out of contention for the gold with two falls to finish with 3,140 points at the Putrajaya Lake yesterday.
Another strong contender from Indonesia – 16-year-old Dimas Ridho Suprihono – also put up a shaky performance for only 3,440 points.
Up stepped Adam. The nine-year-old performed like a pro on both runs to finish with a 3,860-point total.
Adam’s brother – 11-year-old Aiden, who was the overnight leader after posting 3,900 in the preliminary round – then had the chance to win the gold.
Unfortunately for Aiden, the pressure got to him and he fell on both his passes to earn only 2,790 points. That handed the gold to Adam.
Dimas took the silver and Febrianto the bronze.
The win makes Adam the youngest gold medallist in the 29th edition of the Games.
Older sister Aaliyah, however, holds the record for the youngest-ever Malaysian gold medallist, having won the tricks gold in 2011 aged eight.
Adam, who celebrated by running straight to his schoolmates in the crowd, was delighted to be standing on top of the podium.
“I’m really happy right now.
“This is my first gold in the SEA Games,” said an excited Adam.
“I wasn’t thinking about beating anyone’s scores today. I just went out there hoping to do my best.
“So I’m surprised and really happy to find out that I’ve won after it ended.”
Adam’s surprise gold means Malaysia finished with a 4-1-2 haul – a step up from the 2-2-3 finish in Singapore two years ago.
Malaysia’s best finish was a 4-3-1 haul at the 2011 Palembang Games.Read more at: http://www.thestar.com.my/sport/other-sport/2017/08/30/adamantly-done/#zBflRepyHqLQAO7k.99
The six-week training stint in Florida is paying off handsomely for the Malaysian waterski team.
The young SEA Games team, under the Kita Juara programme, have been training extensively at the Cory Pickos ski site since April.
The rewards came through a flurry of record-smashing performances at the Florida Inboards Open at the Santa Rosa Beach in the United States.
First off was nine-year-old Adam Yoong Hanifah, who broke elder half-brother Alex Yoong’s 24-year national record in tricks.
Eleven-year-old Aiden Yoong Hanifah was expected to smash the 3,830 record set by Alex, then 17, during the 1993 Malaysian Open.
Instead it was the youngest sibling Adam, who surprised by scoring 3,920 to finish first in the Under-13 category.
Aiden, who had one trick disallowed because of poor execution, settled for a new personal best of 3,780 and second place in the same category.
However, Aiden did grab a record by posting a score of 4.5buoys/18.25m rope/55kph to set a new national Under-17 record in slalom.
Meanwhile, 19-year-old Syahir Nasir also had a memorable weekend as he broke the national slalom record twice in a day.
Syahir, who came close to breaking Alex’s 23-year record of 3/13/58 on the first day, got the job done a day later by scoring 3.5/13/58 in round two.
Not satisfied, Syahir went back in round three and improved his own record with an astonishing 1/12/58 score.
Syahir’s score is within range of a SEA Games gold with the 2015 gold medal mark being 3/12/58.
In the women’s event, 13-year-old Aaliyah Yoong Hanifah continued to fly high with top-notch results in jump and slalom.
Aaliyah, a two-time SEA Games gold medalist, soared to a new personal best in jump with 32.3m.
It was just 0.2m shy of Phillipa Yoong’s national record set in 1994, and has comfortably beaten the 2015 SEA Games gold medal mark of 29m.
Aaliyah went on to score 0.5/12/55 in slalom to finish fourth in the Under-17 category.
However, it was a brand new national record and an Asian Under-17 record. More importantly, it bettered Singapore’s Sasha Christian gold medal mark of 3/13/55 at the 2015 SEA Games.
With Aaliyah already well assured of winning gold in tricks and overall, her jump and slalom performances would have put her in strong contention for a four-gold haul when the Games starts in August.
“We are heartened to see the improvements by the Kita Juara athletes in the six-week camp in Florida,” said Malaysian Waterski and Wakeboard Federation (MWWF) head coach Hanifah Yoong.
“These improvements are massive even by our expectations and we are grateful to the National Sports Council (NSC) for supporting waterski in the SEA Games.”
Young water skier Aaliyah Yoong Hanifah has impressed with another strong outing – this time at the Moomba Masters in Melbourne, Australia.
The 13-year-old claimed a bronze medal in the tricks event of the Junior Moomba (Under-17 event) on the Yarra River over the weekend.
She nearly made the six-skier final in the Open category before eventually settling for seventh spot.
Aaliyah has enjoyed a strong start to the year, having won two gold medals and a new personal best of 7,600 points in tricks at the Asia-Oceania Waterski and Wakeboard Championships in New Zealand last month.
At the Moomba invitational meet, Aaliyah started strongly to score 6,570 points for a third placing in the junior category.
It’s her third medal at the Junior Moomba. She was a silver medalist in 2014 and 2015.
But the bronze is worth its weight in gold as she was up against a world-class field this time.
Reigning world champion Anna Gay of the United States won with a total score of 10,220 points while world meet runner-up Neilly Ross of Canada was second with 8,450.
“I was rather relaxed for the runs in both rounds. Our strategy was for me to just stand up in all my passes and not chase the extra points on the Yarra ... it worked out well,” said Aaliyah.
In the Open category, Aaliyah scored 6,910 points in the first round to be placed seventh and qualify for the eight-skier semi-finals.
But Aaliyah, who won two gold medals at the 2015 Singapore SEA Games, took a tumble towards the end of the semi-finals and finished with 5,510 points for a seventh placing.
Only the top six made the final.
Sixteen-year-old Ross (9,920pts) won the Open category, followed the United States’ former world champion Erika Lang (9,670) and Belarus’ Natallia Berdnikava (8,730).
“I did pretty well in the Open category by scoring 6,910 points in the first round despite falling on my last trick,” said Aaliyah.
“I’m a bit disappointed with my semi-final performance. Anyway, it’s good for me to have some failures. I was up against some world-level skiers and I know I still have many more years ahead of me to get onto the podium.”Taken from: http://www.thestar.com.my/sport/other-sport/2017/03/14/aaliyah-serves-up-a-bronze-treat-in-the-tricks/
Teenage water skier Aaliyah Yoong Hanifah is making waves again – this time in the Asia-Oceania Waterski and Wakeboard Championships in New Zealand.
Not only did the 13-year-old win two gold medals, she also broke the Asian record in the Open women’s tricks final.
She registered a new personal best score of 7,600 points in the final at Lake Kereta, Auckland, yesterday to become the first Asian to bag the gold medal in the combined Asia-Oceania category since the tournament’s inception 40 years ago.
Australian Katelyn Miller (6,260pts) took silver and Kiwi Georgia O’Connell (4,170pts) the bronze.
The day was made even sweeter for Aaliyah when her 7,600 points saw her grabbing the gold in the Asian category with a new record. It erased her own previous mark of 6,810.
Two Japanese – Saaya Hirosawa (3,620pts) and Kazumi Inoue (3,370pts) took silver and bronze in the Asian category.
This win proves that Aaliyah has learned her lesson after starting the year by missing the cut for the final of the World Junior Championships in Santiago, Chile, last month.
Then, the Singapore SEA Games double gold medalist took an early fall and only scored 2,560 to finish in 35th spot.
“My failure in Chile was definitely a bummer, but I’ve learned to be more relaxed. I’m back on track in the tricks here,” said Aaliyah
“I didn’t do too well in the slalom preliminaries here ... didn’t make the final, but I more than made up for it with my results in tricks.
“I also managed a new personal best in jump (27.9m) and that’s great because I haven’t made any new marks in a while.”
Aaliyah’s 11-year-old brother Aiden also did well by grabbing silver in the Under-17 category of the Asian Championships.
Aiden scored 2,720 points to finish behind Indonesia’s Dimas Ridho Suprihono (3,180pts).
Nine-year-old Adam, the youngest of the Hanifah siblings, just missed out on a medal after scoring 2,230 points to finish fourth behind South Korea’s Ju Seong-min (2,560pts).
Aaliyah, 13, received the invitation from the International Waterski and Wakeboard Federation (IWWF) through the Malaysian Waterski and Wakeboard Federation (MWWF) on Wednesday to compete in the tricks event.
It is a major feat for Aaliyah as she had set another historic mark to become the youngest skier to be selected for the World Games at only 13 years of age.
Aaliyah, who bagged five gold medals at the Asian Waterski and Wakeboard Championships in South Korea in August, is ranked No. 21 in the world in tricks for open women and No. 6 in the world for U17 women.
With each country only allowed one skier, Aaliyah has leapfrogged several top skiers such as world No. 3 Erika Lang of the United States and Canada’s world No. 5 Whitney McClintock to take a spot in Wroclaw.
“I am so excited to be selected. It is such a great honour for me because this is the first time that i am selected for a multi-sport event at a world level,” said Aaliyah.
The teenager’s selection for the World Games will however put her 2017 plans into a slight disarray.
The 2015 SEA Games double gold medallist is due to depart for Santiago, Chile on Dec 29 to compete at the IWWF Junior World Championships from Jan 3-8.
She is also due to compete at the IWWF Asian Oceanian Championships in Auckland, New Zealand (Feb 1-6) and the Moomba Masters in Melbourne, Australia in March.
Besides that, Aaliyah will also head to Florida in April for a six-week training stint with former world champion Cory Pickos and to compete in the US Masters in May.
She is also set to compete at the 2017 SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur where she will look to win another two gold medals to add to her three gold medals won in the last two SEA Games in Palembang and Singapore.
“It is now a dilemma for us to try and fit the World Games into her schedule,” said her father-cum-coach Hanifah Yoong.
“We need to sit down with her and contemplate very carefully what is good for her despite this huge and rare honour for Aaliyah.”
The MWWF and Aaliyah have until Dec 19 to confirm their participation for the World Games.
Teenager Aaliyah Yoong Hanifah has bagged five gold medals to cap a successful week at the Asian Waterski and Wakeboard Championships in Yeonggwang, South Korea.
The 13-year-old, who holds the Asian record of 7,110 points for tricks, was never a doubt for the gold medal in her pet event despite competing in the Under-17 category.
She first set a meet record of 6,660 points in the preliminary round before going on to secure gold with 5,340 points on Thursday.
It was a 1-2 finish for Malaysia in the tricks event as 15-year-old Arianna Chow (3,910pts) took silver, ahead of South Korea’s Jung So-young (1,860pts).
Aaliyah grabbed her second gold on Thursday in the jump event, clearing 26.7m – also a new meet record – to finish ahead of So-young (12.8m).
Yesterday, the double gold medallist at the Singapore SEA Games last year continued to impress by grabbing the slalom gold.
Aaliyah was way ahead of the field as she managed 3.5 buoys on a 13m rope for the gold.
It was also a new national record, erasing the previous mark of 2 buoys on a 13m rope set by half-sister Philippa Yoong 12 years ago.
Arianna again settled for silver with 0.5 buoys on a 14.25m rope. Lebanon’s Soraya Saghbini was third after clearing five buoys on a 16m rope.
Aaliyah’s sweep of all three events was more than enough for her to win the overall category – for her fourth gold medal.
Aaliyah, her brothers – 10-year-old Aiden and eight-year-old Adam – and Arianna then took the team gold with a score of 4,168.99.
Aiden also had a superb outing, scoring 2,760 points in tricks to pip Japan’s Ryo Nagatomo to the silver by 10 points. Indonesia’s Suprihono Dimas Ridho (3,180pts) took gold.
South Korea finished with the silver in the team event after posting 4,075.76 while Japan (2,041.17) took bronze.
“It’s an incredible result and I can’t believe it ... .especially since waterski is a sport that relies a lot on mental strength,” said a delighted Aaliyah.
“Winning the three-event was my personal goal, but anything can happen ... a favourite can fall on the first trick or first slalom pass, so I’m very happy to have done it.
“I’m just a little disappointed I didn’t beat the Under-17 record for slalom (5 buoys 13m rope).”
Taken from : http://www.thestar.com.my/sport/other-sport/2016/08/26/aaliyah-bags-double-gold-in-asian-championship/
The 2016 Malaysian Nationals which incorporates the International Invitation concluded last weekend in Putrajaya saw Malaysia taking home 3 golds from a total of 6 golds available.
Malaysia's waterkiing star Aaliyah Yoong Hanifah grabbed not only the Women Tricks gold but also showed she is an emerging top level slalom skier by winning the Women Slalom gold.
Compatriot, Cheah Hsu Ann surprised herself and everyone else with a superb win in Women Wakeboard when favourite Galuh Mutiara of Indonesia had unfortunate early falls.
Indonesia won 2 golds through Zahidi Putu in Men Tricks and Ardy Trilaksanajaya in Men Slalom.
The remaining gold was won by Philippines' Mark Griffin who gave all present a stirring show of his wakeboading prowess by taking the Men Wakeboard gold.
In the Wakeboard Team title Singapore was placed in 1st place with the trio of Joshua Tay, Gooi Jia Yi and Stephan Kolvakov with 200 points.
Malaysia’s duo comprising Cheah Hsu Ann & Ariana Eimer scoring 180 points. Indonesia's trio of Galuh Mutiara, Aussie Aviriano and Dicky Mario scored 100 points for third.
With Mark Griffin being the sole representative from Philippines was placed 4th in the team competition.
The tournament was held in a different part of the Putrajaya Lake for the first time to test the water condition as compared to the traditional ski site in front of the Grandstands of Putrajaya's Water Sports Complex. This move proved that this new ski site has better water condition as 7 skiers achieved personal bests last weekend.
Aaliyah Yoong Hanifah (MAS), Arianna Chow (MAS), Aiden Yoong Hanifah (MAS), Guruh Dwi Samudra (INA), Safira Widodo (INA), Ardy Trilaksanajaya (INA) and Zahidi Putu (INA) all improved their personal best scores in slalom last weekend.
Team Malaysia has a great future as they form the youngest athletes in the tournament and is an emerging Asian force in team standings while Aaliyah is already amongst the best in the world. The team comprised Aaliyah (13), Arianna Chow (15), Syahir Nasir (18), Aiden (10), Adam (8) and Hsu Ann (27).
They are had been training hard past months under coaches Marian Malaquin of France, Larry Gisler of Chile and Al Fisal of Malaysia in preparation for the 2016 IWWF Asian Championships to be held in Korea in a week's time as well as for the 2017 Kuala Lumpur SEA Games.
The 2016 Malaysian Nationals was sponsored by the National Sports Council Malaysia and supported by Perbadanan Putrajaya.
Results Wakeboard Men & Women
Results Slalom Men
Results Slalom Women
Results Tricks Men
Results Tricks Women
This is yet another pending new Asian record for this young 12 year old Malaysian.
"This is surreal and I am overjoyed!" said Aaliyah Yoong Hanifah as she became first Asian woman trick skier getting into this zone and shattering her previous PB of 6610pts set earlier this year.
#nautiqueboats #correctcraft #reflexbindings #majlissukannegaramalaysia #waterskiputrajaya #putrajaya
An untimely distraction cost water skier Aaliyah Yoong Hanifah a place in the tricks event final of the Moomba Masters in Melbourne.
The 12-year-old was on the way to start her first pass on the Yarra River when the boat was told to restart because the video signals were not reaching the judges’ tower.
That put Aaliyah off her rhythm and she fell in her second pass for a lowly score of 4,300 to finish last out of eight skiers in the semi-finals on Sunday.
World champion Anna Gay of the United States set the pace with 9,920 points while France’s Clementine Lucine was second with 8,770.
Another American – former world Under-21 champion – Alex Lauretano was third with 7,620 points.
Only the top six qualify for the final and Aaliyah’s score wasn’t far off from sixth placed Erika Lang’s 5,590.
“The restart after the aborted first pass did affect me a bit,” said the SEA Games double gold medallist Aaliyah.
“This could happen in any competition so I just need to be stronger in focusing on my task in future.”
Taken from: http://www.thestar.com.my/sport/other-sport/2016/03/13/aaliyah-fails-to-reach-moomba-masters-final/
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