 |
Janelle (Jane Ellen) Kirtley Godfrey (December 8, 1943 - April 28, 2017) was an American former World Champion water skier.
|
Janelle (Jane Ellen) Kirtley Godfrey (December 8, 1943 - April 28, 2017) was an American former World Champion water skier.
Janelle was born on December 8, 1943, in Birmingham, Alabama to Robert H Kirtley and Mary Leona Perry Kirtley. With the strict guidance of her parents, she learned how to ski at age 5, and started competing in water skiing tournaments in 1956. In 1959, at the age of 15, she was on the U.S. Women's National Water Ski Team and competed in Milan, Italy in 1959. In 1960 she won overall in the Masters Water Ski Tournament, and she went on to win the World Championship in the 1961 World Tournament Women's Slalom Title [1] and the 1963 Tricks and Slalom. She obtained several Water Skiing National Titles. [2] In 1961 she enrolled in the School of Nursing at St. Vincent's in Birmingham [3] and then graduated in 1964. In 2001 she was recognized with the Award of Distinction from the Water Ski Hall of Fame, [4] and she was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 2009. [5]
In 1965, Janelle married Roland LeGrand Godfrey, of Adamsville Alabama, and raised three sons in Forestdale and Adamsville Alabama. Janelle has eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Her family continued the water skiing tradition and continue to ski in the waters she practiced in on the Black Warrior River in Alabama. One of her most famous sayings to her family of water skiers is "If you ain't falling you ain't trying". And she would put this saying into practice in her daily life as viewed in this footage of Janelle trick skiing in Cypress Gardens, FL between the years 1958 and 1960 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlE0D0Q6G0Q
Water skiing is a surface water sport in which an individual is pulled behind a boat or a cable ski installation over a body of water, skimming the surface on two skis or one ski. The sport requires sufficient area on a stretch of water, one or two skis, a tow boat with tow rope, two or three people, and a personal flotation device. In addition, the skier must have adequate upper and lower body strength, muscular endurance, and good balance.
Barefoot skiing is water skiing behind a motorboat without the use of water skis, commonly referred to as "barefooting". Barefooting requires the skier to travel at higher speeds (30–45 mph/48–72 km/h) than conventional water skiing. The necessary speed required to keep the skier upright varies by the weight of the barefooter and can be approximated by the following formula: + 20, where W is the skier's weight in pounds and the result is in miles per hour. It is an act performed in show skiing, and on its own.
Anne Heggtveit, is a former alpine ski racer from Canada. She was an Olympic gold medallist and double world champion in 1960.
The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Spirit Squads compete in the UCA and UDA College National Championships.
Stay Hungry is a 1976 American comedy-drama film by director Bob Rafelson from a screenplay by Charles Gaines.
Marina Ricolfi-Doria is a Swiss former water skier. She competed three times at the Water Ski World Championships winning gold medals in 1955 and in 1957. She won the overall title in the European Water Ski Championships consecutively from 1953 to 1956 and won five Swiss national titles. She was inducted into the International Water Ski Federation Hall of Fame in 1991.
The Water Ski World Championships is a bi-annual water ski competition that has taken place since 1949. Held near the end of the competition season, the World Championships are one of the sport's oldest major championships along with the Masters Water Ski Tournament and the U.S. National Water Ski Championships.
Maria Höfl-Riesch is a former German World Cup alpine ski racer. She is a three-time Olympic champion, two-time world champion, and an overall World Cup champion.
Christa Kinshofer-Rembeck is a German former alpine ski racer and businesswoman. In her career she won three Olympic medals, one World Championship medal and seven World Cup races.
Sylvie Hülsemann is a retired Luxembourgian water skier. She won the world championship on her second attempt, in 1961, at the age of 16. In addition, she was the European Women's Overall Champion in 1961, 1966, and 1968.
Federica Brignone is an Italian World Cup alpine ski racer. She competes in all alpine disciplines, with a focus on giant slalom and super-G. Brignone won the World Cup overall title in 2020, becoming the first Italian female to achieve this feat. She is also an Olympic and World Championship medalist. At the 2022 Winter Olympics, she won a silver medal in the giant slalom and a bronze in the combined.
George Joseph Cash was an American professional water skier. During his career Cash won four Masters, three U.S. Nationals, and two World Championships.
Richard Downing Pope Jr., better known as Dick Pope Jr., was a World Champion water skier and an important business leader in Central Florida. Pope was an important innovator in the sport of water skiing, including the development of barefoot skiing in 1947. He is the son of Dick Pope Sr., the founder of Cypress Gardens theme park.
Deena Mapple is a retired American competitive water skier. She is regarded to be one of the greatest female water skiers of her generation. Her Grand Slam Victory in 1987 - overall wins in the World Championships, U.S. Nationals, U.S. Masters and the Pro Tour - made her one of two athletes to ever accomplish the feat. She remains the only American to earn membership to the United States Waterskiing Team seven consecutive times.
Isobel Marion Roe was an alpine skier, athletic administrator, teacher, and croquet player. As a skier, she was Great Britain Women's Ski Champion and represented Britain in the World Championships in 1937 and the winter Olympics in 1948.
Willa McGuire Cook was the winner of 18 American national titles in water skiing. She was the first freestyle water skier, and had a unique and creative approach to her sport. In the 1950s, Cook invented swivel skiing, a style of water skiing that became hugely successful around the world, which combines the moves of ballet with water skiing by using swivel bindings on the ski. Today there is a trophy in her name, which is awarded to the best female performer at the National Water Ski Show Tournament each year.
Nancie Rideout Robertson was an American professional water skier. During her competitive career, Rideout won the inaugural Masters and two World Championships in jump.
Judy McClintock-Messer is a Canadian former water skier. She won the Masters Water Ski Tournament in 1981 and the Water Ski World Championships in 1985 and 1995.
Joel McClintock is a Canadian former water skier. During his career, McClintock and his sister Judy became the first pair of siblings to both win world titles.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)