Andrew Henry Mapple (3 November 1962 – 22 August 2015) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

professional

water skier Water skiing (also waterskiing or water-skiing) is a surface water sport in which an individual is pulled behind a boat or a cable ski installation over a body of water, skimming the surface on two skis or one ski. The sport requires suffic ...

. Competing professionally between 1981 and 2004, Mapple is regarded as the greatest slalom skier of all time. During his career he won six

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

, 168 professional events, and set or tied the world record on eleven occasions.

Biography

Mapple was born in

Lytham Lytham St Annes () is a seaside town in the Borough of Fylde in Lancashire, England. It is on the The Fylde, Fylde coast, directly south of Blackpool on the Ribble Estuary. The population at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 42,954 ...

to Roy and Janet Mapple and grew up in Warton with both his sisters, Susan and Christine. At age 13 Mapple first learned to water ski at

Windermere Windermere (sometimes tautology (language), tautologically called Windermere Lake to distinguish it from the nearby town of Windermere, Cumbria (town), Windermere) is the largest natural lake in England. More than 11 miles (18 km) in leng ...

, being taught by his older sister Susan. Mapple attended Carr Hill High School in

Kirkham Kirkham may refer to: Places *Kirkham, Lancashire, England *Kirkham, North Yorkshire, England *Kirkham, New South Wales, Australia *Kirkham (HM Prison), a prison in Lancashire, England *Kirkham Priory *Kirkham House Other uses *Kirkham (surname) K ...

, and during his time there was allowed to leave for extended periods to train at Princes Water Ski Club and Thorpe Waterski under the tutelage of his first coach Paul Seaton - European Champion 1972, 1974 and 1975. After winning his first World Slalom title in 1981 aged 18, Mapple spent winters in Florida and summers at Thorpe Waterski until moving to Florida permanently in the mid 1980s. Mapple retired at the end of the 2004 season. During his career Mapple founded his own company, Mapple Waterskis. The company was dissolved, but Andy's design carries on via Square One out of Washington. In 1987 he married Deena Brush, a professional water skier also. The couple lived on Lake Butler and had two children, Michael and Elyssa. He was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) in the

2002 Birthday Honours Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in supp ...

for services to water skiing. Mapple died in Florida on 22 August 2015.

Achievements

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mapple, Andy 1962 births 2015 deaths British water skiers Male water skiers Sportspeople from Lytham St Annes World Games silver medalists for Great Britain World Games medalists in water skiing Officers of the Order of the British Empire Medalists at the 1981 World Games