Joe Ray wins team and individual titles in world waterskiing championships

USA Water Ski has selected Randolph County native Joe Ray of Wilsonville, Ala. and Jessica Radmilovic of Pine Grove, Calif. as its Male Athlete of the Month and Female Athlete of the Month, respectively, for August.

Ray and Radmilovic led the U.S. Disabled Water Ski Team to the world team gold medal at the 10th Disabled Water Ski World Championships, presented by the Barbara Bolding/Jim Grew Foundation, Aug. 25-28 at Voice of America Park in West Chester, Ohio. Their team was selected USA Water Ski’s Team of the Month.

WSDA (Water Skiers with Disabilities Association) has also selected Ray and Radmilovic as the WSDA Athletes of the year for 2011.

At the world championships the United States tallied 12,129.90 points in winning the gold medal for the sixth time. Italy earned the silver medal for the second consecutive time with 10,331.45 points and France earned the bronze medal for the second consecutive time with 8,975.32 points. Five U.S. team members won individual medals. Thirty-eight athletes from 13 countries participated in the championships.

Ray won the gold medal in men’s seated slalom (4.00/40) and the bronze medal in overall (2,541.28 points). He also earned the bronze medal in men tournament overall (among all men competitors) and contributed 2,541.28 points to the U.S. Disabled Water Ski Team’s gold-medal winning tally.

Radmilovic won five medals, including one gold medal and four silver medals. She won the gold medal in women’s seated slalom (4.00/37), establishing a new women’s MP2 world record. She earned silver medals in women’s seated tricks (340 points), jumping (45 feet/13.6 meters) and overall (2,816.91 points). She also earned the silver medal in women’s tournament overall (among all women competitors). In the preliminary round, Radmilovic tied the existing women’s MP2 world tricks record with a score of 780 points. She also contributed a team-high 2,816.91 points to the U.S. Disabled Water Ski Team’s gold-medal winning total.

Within each event (slalom, tricks and jumping), athletes were grouped into the three categories of seated (paraplegics and quadriplegics), standing (arm and/or leg disabilities with or without prosthesis) and vision impaired (partially or totally blind).

U.S. team members earned a total of 12 individual medals, including four gold medals, five silver medals and three bronze medals. Members of the U.S. Disabled Water Ski Team were: William Furbish (Atlanta, Ga.), MP1; Chad Guzman (Gilbert, Ariz.), MP3; Katie Mawby (Grand Haven, Mich.), V2/3; Matt Oberholtz (Oroville, Calif.), MP3; Robbie Parks (Lexington, N.C.), MP2; Jessica Radmilovic (Pine Grove, Calif.), MP2; Joe Ray (Wilsonville, Ala.), MP2; Daniel Reed (Indianapolis, Ind.), MP3; Mike Royal (Spring, Texas), V1 and Craig Timm (Center City, Minn.), A.

Joe Ray, who lost the use of his legs in an automobile accident, serves as executive director of Adaptive Aquatics in Wilsonville (adaptiveaquatics.org), a nonprofit organization dedicated to the introduction, teaching and advancement of adapted water skiing for children, adults and wounded veterans with physical disabilities.