04:52Making a splash: Three-year-old wakeboarder from Nizhnekamsk slides into the record books
Three-year-old Zara Ivanova from Nizhnekamsk has entered the record books as the youngest wakeboarder ever.
Footage shows the youngster riding on her specially made board, on large expanses of water, giant puddles in the street, and even on a carpet of leaves through the forest. She is also seen preparing her kit with her father.
"We started practising with her from one year old," explained proud dad Dmitri Ivanov. "At first we practiced at home, training her little hands. I had small piece of wood which she would hold on with both hands and slowly try to hold on and resist. She would sit on the linoleum and slowly begin to ride."
Dmitri himself now runs a school for wakeboarding and snowboarding, and knew exactly how to hone the skills she needed.
"She was hanging on the horizontal bars and climbing the ladders in the playgrounds so that she was constantly exercising her arms. Then she moved to legs and stance. And only when she was three years old we tried [riding] on the water," he continued.
In August, Dmitri decided to officially record his daughter's incredible achievement.
"Guinness (World Records) told me that they no longer register athletes from Russia. They told me to contact InterRecord - they also deal with world records and have a register of world records," he shared.
"I then sent them an e-mail, I gave them the proof of how everything happened: a few videos, photos, so that everything was not cut, originals, where you can see the timing, date of creation. Next, they have already entered us into the register, sent us awards," he concluded.
Zara also explained how she loved riding her board on both the water and in the snow. Already a record-breaker, she’s certainly got plenty of time to add to her medal collection.
04:52Mandatory credit: 00:00-01:19 - Instagram @azar4enok
Three-year-old Zara Ivanova from Nizhnekamsk has entered the record books as the youngest wakeboarder ever.
Footage shows the youngster riding on her specially made board, on large expanses of water, giant puddles in the street, and even on a carpet of leaves through the forest. She is also seen preparing her kit with her father.
"We started practising with her from one year old," explained proud dad Dmitri Ivanov. "At first we practiced at home, training her little hands. I had small piece of wood which she would hold on with both hands and slowly try to hold on and resist. She would sit on the linoleum and slowly begin to ride."
Dmitri himself now runs a school for wakeboarding and snowboarding, and knew exactly how to hone the skills she needed.
"She was hanging on the horizontal bars and climbing the ladders in the playgrounds so that she was constantly exercising her arms. Then she moved to legs and stance. And only when she was three years old we tried [riding] on the water," he continued.
In August, Dmitri decided to officially record his daughter's incredible achievement.
"Guinness (World Records) told me that they no longer register athletes from Russia. They told me to contact InterRecord - they also deal with world records and have a register of world records," he shared.
"I then sent them an e-mail, I gave them the proof of how everything happened: a few videos, photos, so that everything was not cut, originals, where you can see the timing, date of creation. Next, they have already entered us into the register, sent us awards," he concluded.
Zara also explained how she loved riding her board on both the water and in the snow. Already a record-breaker, she’s certainly got plenty of time to add to her medal collection.