George Athans (born 6 July 1952) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

retired competitive

water ski 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 suffi ...

er. During his career he won 10 consecutive national titles from 1965 to 1974, the first at age 13. Also known as George Athans Jr. to distinguish him from his father,

Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame The Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame is an honour roll of the top Canadian Olympic athletes, teams, coaches, and builders (officials, administrators, and volunteers). It was established in 1949. Selections are made by a committee appointed by the Cana ...

diver George Athans Sr. Born in Kelowna,

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, Athans was a member of the Canadian water ski team from 1966 to 1974 and participated in his first world championship in 1967. Athans won the world water ski championship in 1971 and 1973 and was named Canada's male amateur athlete of the year in both of those years. At his final national championship in 1974, his closest competitor was his brother, Greg Athans. A knee injury prevented Athans from competing for the Canadian title in 1975 and he retired from competition. During his competitive career, Athans moved to

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

to attend

Sir George Williams University Sir George Williams University was a university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It merged with Loyola College to create Concordia University on August 24, 1974. History In 1851, the first YMCA in North America was established on Sainte-Hélène ...

. He competed in the Canadian ''Superstars'' competition in 1978 (finishing fourth) and 1979 (second). Following his retirement, Athans worked as a commentator for CBC Sports and founded Athans Communications, a video production company based in Montreal. Athans was made a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

in 1974 and has been inducted into the

(1971), Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (1974), the Quebec Sports Hall of Fame (1980), the

International Water Ski Federation The International Waterski & Wakeboard Federation (IWWF) is the world governing body for all towed water sports. Founded in Geneva, Switzerland in 1946, it is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the sole authority governing ...

Hall of Fame (1993), and the Water Ski and Wakeboard Canada Hall of Fame (2004).

External links

Water Ski and Wakeboard Canada Hall of Fame profile

Athans Communications
{{DEFAULTSORT:Athans, George 1952 births Canadian water skiers Living people Members of the Order of Canada Sir George Williams University alumni Sportspeople from Kelowna Male water skiers