Twelve-year-old Lara Cosgrove from Chalfont St Peter in Buckinghamshire has achieved a stunning victory at the 2026 Europe & Africa Youth Waterski Championships, held in Greece. Her gold medal was the highlight of a competition that saw the GB squad pick up five individual medals, including two for Lara’s older sister, Isabel.

It’s Lara’s first major international title and she took it in style. In the preliminary round of the Under 14 Girls’ Slalom, she set a new British record for the age category, scoring three buoys on a 12-metre rope length. It was enough to take her into the 12-skier final as the top seed and, therefore, the last athlete off the dock.

As she took to the water, the lead score was 2.5 buoys on 12 metres. She would have to equal her new British record to become a European Champion. Showing a remarkable calm under pressure, the youngster did just that.

“I’m so excited to win the Under 14 Girls’ Slalom,” Lara said just before collecting her medal. “I’ve always wanted to win a European gold medal and I can’t really believe I’ve done it! I was so nervous on the dock.”

Lara’s sister, Isabel Cosgrove (14) – who won three European golds in the Under 14s last year – picked up two medals in her first year competing as an Under 17. She won silver in Under 17 Girls’ Tricks and bronze in Under 17 Girls’ Overall.

Lara and Isabel are both pupils at Berkhamsted Girls’ School in Hertfordshire.

Harley Coster (16), from Camberley in Surrey, also won two individual medals. The former Collingwood College pupil, who was the 2024 European Under 14 Boys’ Jump Champion, was competing in the Under 17s where he won bronze in both Jump and Slalom.

The Under 17 British Team – made up of another Cosgrove sibling, James (17), Isabel, Harley and 16-year-old Charlie Fearn from Sheffield in South Yorkshire – finished third overall out of 21 teams to take the Team bronze, making six medals for GB in total.

NOTES FOR EDITORS

The 2026 IWWF (International Waterski & Wakeboard Federation) Europe & Africa Youth Waterski Championships was held at Stratos Lake, Agrinio, Greece from 19 to 23 August. The full results can be found here: https://iwwfed-ea.net/competition.php?cc=T-26EURO03&page=26EURO03

For more information, please contact Jane Peel, British Water Ski & Wakeboard Head of Communications on 07802 496927 or jane@bwsf.co.uk

Photos can be found in the dropbox link below. PLEASE CREDIT THE PHOTOGRAPHERS WHERE SHOWN ON THE CAPTION.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/1o86i2qculsghbrm9j22m/AMoaPVGeyHcE-8MFF708-Gk?rlkey=h2ch4v6v2wn1hdghsludb6pif&dl=0

WATER SKIING EXPLAINED

Slalom

The boat travels at a constant speed in a straight line down the middle of the slalom course. The skier, on a single ski, has to go through the entrance gates (a pair of buoys in the middle of the course) then virage from side to side across the boat wakes, successfully rounding six turn buoys before going through the exit gates.

Each successful pass results in the rope being shortened, making it increasingly difficult to reach the turn buoys. Eventually, the rope length becomes less than the distance from the boat to the turn buoys so the skier has to use body length and reach to round the buoys. The winner is the skier who completes the most turn buoys at the shortest rope length.

Jumping

Waterski jumping is a spectacular high-adrenaline event which involves skiing on two skis over a ramp, taking off and landing on the water to ski away. There are no style points. All the matters is the distance travelled and a successful landing.

Tricks

The skier is given two 20-second passes to complete as many different tricks as possible. These can vary from a simple 180-degree turn to a somersault with a twist. There are also ‘toehold’ tricks where the skier holds the rope with one foot. Each trick is worth a given number of points according to difficulty. Points are awarded only if the tricks are deemed to have been successfully performed.

Overall

In overall competitions, the skier competes in the three separate disciplines of slalom, tricks and jump and the combined scores in each contribute to an overall score.

British Water Ski & Wakeboard (BWSW) is the sport’s national governing body and a non-profit making membership organisation. All its income is invested in developing and protecting water skiing and wakeboarding across the UK from the grassroots to our top athletes. 2026 is our 75th anniversary.

The International Waterski & Wakeboard Federation (IWWF) is the sport’s world governing body to which national organisations such as BWSW are affiliated.

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