Short Par 4 The Magazine Issue #2 October 2020 | Page 38

Who ’ s the greatest athlete you know , somebody you ’ ve actually spent time with , hung out with , drank a beer with ? The guy or girl who just crushes it at every sport they play regardless of experience .

Funny enough the person who without a doubt in my mind jumps at me might surprise you . I don ’ t think he ’ s played any of the so-called major sports , apart from the normal pick up games . What if I told you that the most athletic person I ’ ve met and I ' ve been fortunate enough to rub shoulders with some of the best athletes in the world , was a wakeboarder .

Let me clear though , Steel Lafferty isn ' t just any wakeboarder , he is THE WAKEBOARDER . Considered as one of the greatest to ever get his feet strapped in behind a moving object going God knows what kind of speeds .

He has won some of the biggest wakeboarding competitions to date , as well as progressed the sports to new heights with some of the craziest tricks ever seen . One of them , a triple flip that still eludes him after years of trying almost costing him his life with , torn ligaments , multiple concussions , and fractured vertebrae .