Dubliner wins wakeboard medal

A Dublin teenager has won a silver medal at the World Wakeboard Championships in Italy.

A Dublin teenager has won a silver medal at the World Wakeboard Championships in Italy.

David O’Caoimh (17), from Killiney, has been wakeboarding for seven years and is the current Open Men Irish National Champion.

Mr O'Caoimh was awarded the silver medal in the Junior Men division at the championships in Milan on Monday, the highest performance achieved by an Irish athlete at the games.

Wakeboarding is a watersport that uses a combination of water skiing, snowboarding and surfing techniques. The sport began in the late 1980s.

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Mr O'Caoimh's medal comes just a week after he won the highly regarded Wakestock UK Open Men title.

Mr O'Caoimh, who has been wakeboarding since the age of five, does most of his training on Lough Sillan in Cavan but has also worked with top coaches in the US and South Africa. The teenager said he was ecstatic over his win.

Another Irish teenager, Lindsay Whelan, came fifth in the women's division final.

Some 250 athletes from 36 countries took place in this year's championship.

Ireland finished in seventh place in the overall rankings at this year's championships, which are regarded by many as the equivalent of the Olympic Games for wakeboarders.