POLK CITY, Fla. — Freddy Krueger and Karen Truelove, both of Winter Garden, Fla., are USA Water Ski's 2002 Male and Female Athletes of the Year. The U.S. Elite Water Ski Team was named USA Water Ski's 2002 Team of the Year.


The athletes and team were selected by USA Water Ski's Awards Committee and will now be considered for the United States Olympic Committee's prestigious SportsMan, SportsWoman and Sports Team of the Year awards, which will be announced in January. The USOC SportsMan and SportsWoman awards have been presented annually to the top overall male and female athletes within the USOC member organizations since 1974, while the team category was added in 1996.


Krueger, 27, won the 2002 Malibu Open, July 21, in Rio Linda, Calif., after setting a Men's world jumping record of 233 feet (71.0 meters), eclipsing the old world record by 0.1 meters. Krueger also won Men's jumping titles at the Jilin Pro Jump in Jilin City, China. He placed third in Men's jumping at the MasterCraft Pro Water Ski Championships and leaped to a fourth-place finish at the Moomba Masters in Melbourne, Australia. In Men's ski flying, Krueger sealed first place in the Rev Up Big Air Challenge and finished runner-up at the 2002 Masters. As a member of the U.S. Elite Water Ski Team, he placed second in Men's jumping and fourth overall in helping the U.S. Team win the gold medal at the 2002 Pan American Water Ski Championships in Santiago, Chile. It is the fourth consecutive year in which Krueger has been named USA Water Ski's Male Athlete of the Year.


Truelove, 28, rebounded from a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) to ski the best season of her professional career in 2002. Just five months after surgery, she skied 3 buoys at 38 feet off at the Moomba Masters to clinch the first professional Women's slalom title of her career. Truelove followed up with Women's slalom titles at the MasterCraft Pro Water Ski Championships, the Malibu Open and the U.S. Open. She also placed fourth in Women's slalom at the 2002 Masters.