Danish waterskier June Fladborg has silver medal from the World Championships and what´s more, four European Champion titles. In the year of 2009 at home and before the eyes of the Prince of Denmark, she lost the gold by just 30 centimetres to her teammate Jepsen Maj Lund. However, unfazed she refused to ceasefire and wins the gold in Thorpe (GBR). In that very same year June shatters the World Record of Elena Milakova-Thomsen (2002) and became the first woman to ever break the 57m-mark. She has innovated women jump and seeks techniques and new horizons on how to fly as far as possible.
…and then it happened. It was almost a trivial fall on landing that was followed by a very unpleasant and protracted leg injury. Rehab took very long and the prognosis did not sound very optimistic. Many people doubted June´s ability to ever come back. But she demonstrated desire, will, faith and power. And now she is back.
She first stood on the slalom ski. Subsequently also came back to jumping and slowly began to claim lost ground. June is back and everybody wishes to her that the comeback is successful. We all believe that June will be a strong contender in the 2014 European Waterski Championships. June, come conquer the Czech Republic!!!
Whom or what do you picture if you hear somebody say the Czech Republic?
Beside thinking of Adam Sedlmajer, I think of all the beautiful old buildings and cathedrals. With school many years ago we toured Prague and it was an amazing experience.
Would you like to participate in the Europeans and how stoked are you about it?
Yes I will definitely be there! Cant wait to go back to Czech and see how much it has changed since I was there 15 years ago.
Is there any special preparation that you plan for this competition?
I will be preparing for the tournament at Hazelwood ski World where we train and coach in the European summer. I pretty much train as much and as hard as my foot lets me.
Are your health issues dealt with for good?
Well my foot is fused together and can bend a very limited amount, it is what it is, I will never be able to change that, because the metal in my foot has to stay there. I am learning everyday to ski „around it“ meaning I’m learning to ski and balance on the foot again. Its very different.
Has your perception of waterskiing anyhow changed after the injury?
Well we never really appreciate our health. When we have it we completely take it for granted. I appreciate my time on the water very much now, but it can also be very frustrating. As hard as it has been and still is getting back on top, I just love skiing so much, I wont ever stop skiing!
What are your current goals?
A medal at the Europeans.
How popular is waterskiing in Denmark?
We have been lucky to generate a fair bit of focus on waterskiing in Denmark. The crown Prince Frederik is an old skier himself so we have been lucky to meet him on several occasions and that in itself has given the sport focus. Winning tournament and making the news has also had a huge impact on popularity, but we always have to work on it.
What would you like us to tell the spectators who will come to see the Championships?
I love to hear people cheer for me on the water, so get loud for the Danes! :)
