Auckland: National waterskier Aaliyah Yoong Hanifah kicked off the 2025 season in style by clinching three gold medals at the International Waterski and Wakeboard Federation (IWWF) University World Championship in Auckland, New Zealand.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the championship, held from February 26 until today, saw the 21-year-old secure gold in the women’s jump event with a 44.7-metre leap in the final. This remarkable feat put her ahead of the favorite, Lili Steiner of Austria, who managed 43.5 meters, while New Zealand’s Lily Meade took bronze with a 41.5-meter jump.

Aaliyah continued her stellar performance by winning her second gold in the women’s tricks event with a score of 7,970 points, outshining her competitors, Canada’s Hannah Stopnicki (5,760 points) and Australia’s Layne Moroney, who took bronze with 5,050 points.

In the slalom final, Aaliyah finished in sixth place with a score of 2.00/55kph/12.00m. Despite this, her achievements in jump and tricks secured her third gold medal in the overall category with a total score of 2,863.64 points. Steiner claimed silver in the overall category, while Lily Meade took bronze.

Reflecting on her success, Aaliyah expressed her delight at winning her first gold in jump, recalling her long-standing ambition since winning the 2011 SEA Games gold in women’s tricks at the age of eight.

National head coach Hanifah Yoong shared his surprise at the results, noting that the Malaysian Waterski and Wakeboard Federation (MWWF) had initially set a best-case target of a gold in the overall category and a podium finish in jump and tricks. He expressed happiness for Aaliyah, acknowledging that her victories alleviated the pressure she had placed on herself over the past year and a half since winning third in jump at the Under-21 World Championship in Mexico in 2023.