By Jack Burden

The 2024 WorldWaterSkiers (WWS) Overall Tour launches next weekend with its first stop in Salmsee, Austria. The Tour, which pits the world’s best water skiers against each other in the traditional overall format, has provided a window into the world of overall competition, which previously was only contested every other year at the World Championships.

Over the first two seasons, we have witnessed incredible competition, from cementing the legacies of superstars such as Joel Poland and Giannina Bonemann Mechler to introducing us to future stars like the Duplan-Fribourg brothers, Kennedy Hansen, and Paige Rini.

Unfortunately, the women’s portion of the 2024 tour had to be canceled due to a lack of participation. However, the best male overall skiers in the world will once again compete across a series of four international events.

Here are six skiers to watch during the 2024 WWS Overall Tour:

Joel Poland

The hottest commodity in world water skiing over the past two seasons, the world record holder needs no introduction. Poland went undefeated on the 2023 Tour, culminating in a world record to win the Tour final, and will look to replicate that feat again in 2024.

In a recent interview on the TWBC Podcast, Poland referred to himself as a “three-event skier” rather than an “overall skier,” highlighting his ambition to compete with the best across all three events. As the only man to hold residence in the sport’s three most exclusive clubs (41’/10.25m, 12,000 points, and 70m/230′), he will be tough to beat throughout the tour.

Louis Duplan-Fribourg

The Frenchman had to play second fiddle to Poland throughout the 2023 Tour, placing second at all four stops, but he applied serious pressure throughout the season. He set a French national jump record at the opening tour stop to finish within 3 overall points of Poland, a margin smaller than a quarter buoy or a side slide.

Duplan-Fribourg capped off his 2023 season with a victory at the World Championships and will be determined to show the world that it was not a one-off. The strongest tricker on the Tour, and pushing up close to 70m (230 feet), Louis will be looking to challenge Poland for the crown of the world’s best skier.

Dorien Llewellyn

The dark horse of the field, Llewellyn has competed in just two tournaments so far this year—the U.S. Masters (tricks only) and the Masters Qualifier at Sunset Lakes. At his best, he is the second highest-scoring overall skier of all time, only narrowly short of Poland’s world record, but fitness remains a major concern for the Canadian after a serious ankle injury last season.

If Llewellyn is able to recapture his pre-injury form, the former world record holder will be a formidable challenger throughout the Tour. He picked up a World Championships bronze and Pan Am Games gold skiing on one leg last fall and, after spending most of the past 12 months on the sidelines, he will be hungry to return to high-level competition.

Martin Kolman

The veteran of the field, remarkably at only 32 years of age, Kolman has quietly returned to world-class form in all three events. After moving to Utah and starting a career with Goode Skis, the Czech athlete appeared to put his skiing on the back burner for a couple of seasons, particularly in jump, where he managed only a handful of 200-foot scores from 2020-2022. However, last year he was in arguably the best form of his career, recording a personal best in tricks and some of his best-ever jump scores.

To challenge for the lead, the 2019 world overall champion will need to unlock the last piece of the puzzle, his slalom form, where he has struggled to consistently run 10.75m (39.5′ off) in recent years. If he finds form in slalom, he will put serious pressure on the likes of Joel, Louis, and Dorien.

Danylo Filchenko

The Cinderella story of world water skiing, Filchenko lives and trains in war-torn Eastern Ukraine. Despite the constant threat of shelling in his hometown, just 60 miles from the front, the Ukrainian has continued to perform at world-class levels. He participated in the Monaco Slalom Cup last month, and despite doing the majority of his training in the leadup behind a boat without speed control, he managed to trick a personal best of 11,990 in both rounds to clinch a podium finish.

Combine that tricking form with jump distances in the mid to high 60s (220′) and the potential to run 11.25m (38′ off), and we could see the Ukrainian challenge for the podium, or more, throughout the 2024 Tour stops he is able to attend.

Edoardo Marenzi

No skier has competed in more professional events so far in 2024 than the Italian, who has been traveling the world trying to make it as a professional water skier. It has not been his year so far, with a handful of top-eight placements, but no podiums yet.

However, the Overall Tour may be the change of fortune needed for Marenzi, who really comes into his own in the overall event. Capable of running deep 10.75m, tricking close to 11,000 points, and jumping over 200 feet, the Italian does not have a weak event. He will be a strong contender to add to his four podium finishes across the WWS Tour over the past two seasons.

Catch all the action from Austria and beyond at worldwaterskiers.com