Danylo Filchenko, the Ukrainian Dynamo ready to perform

Danylo Filchenko is not a name many will have heard of outside of U21 level skiing, but don’t let that name drop from your memory.

Danylo is one of the elite skiers making serious noises in the waterski world. Big wins, Big scores and big PB’s have elevated this young Ukrainian into the upper echelon of elite skiing.

Humble and determined, Danylo has a bright future ahead of him and will be pushing for the World U21 title in 5 weeks time. Coming off an 8 month layoff after a nasty Arm injury, Danylo pulled the bicep tendon off the bone. He’s ready and fired up for the 2019 season

Read his interview below.

Name: Danylo Filchenko

Age: 20

Nationality: Ukranian

What age were you when you started skiing?

I was 9 years old

Who inspired you as a young athlete?

I was looking up to Natallia Berdnikava, Jaret Lewellyn, Freddy Krueger, Aliaksei Zharnasek.

What is your greatest strength?

I think my greatest strength is the ability to set big goals and work hard every day to achieve them.

Where do you train?

I train mostly in my hometown Dnipro, Ukraine at “Sentosa Water Ski Club” and also Jack Travers Waterski School

Who are your coaches?

My main coach Maxim Semavin was with me since very beginning and until recently, now I train with Yurii Yeremieiev when I’m in Ukraine, and with Natallia Berdnikava when I’m in States.

Does your family ski also?

Yes my dad does free slalom 1-3 times a week, and my Mom too but not as often as my dad. They only started waterskiing since I started doing it.

Do you do or follow any other sports?

I play a lot of other sports in the off-season like racquetball, tennis, basketball, boxing, but nothing super serious. And I wouldn’t say that I’m following any other sport, but I do watch a lot of fights like UFC, and boxing.

PB in Jump: 69.3m (228ft)

PB in Slalom: 4/11.25m (38 off)

PB in Tricks: 11520

Now about that jump (69.3m)…. How awesome was that?

Like the legend Scot Ellis said he won’t sleep for 3 days after that jump, he was right. But it was amazing yeah, that feeling of flying 20 feet further than you normally do, was something unreal. I will never forget other people’s faces after that jump and how I shocked the world with it.

What has been your greatest accomplishment on the water?

I believe that my U21 World title in tricks and overall was the greatest accomplishment I’ve had so far. Winning at home, in front of big crowd which are cheering for you, was something super special and I will never forget that.

What excites you the most about a career as a water-skier?

Every tournament gets me very excited, because I finally get to show the world what I’m capable of. Also I’m very excited for the future of this sport, I truly believe this sport doesn’t get as much recognition and pay off as much as it could. So my role is to stay up the top of this sport and do as much as I can to help it grow.

What are some of your medium/short term goals?

My goal for the season of 2019 is to win gold at Worlds U21 in Canada, Europeans U21 in Ukraine, and Open Worlds in Malaysia.

What is the best part about competing?

As I said best part about competing is that you can show the world what you are capable of and also that you get to test yourself, how good are you being under pressure?

What emotions do you feel when you ski well?

I feel relieved, I feel like “YESS, finally I was able to show my full potential” because many times when I skied even though it was my PB sometimes, I still wasn’t very happy and satisfied with my score. Example: In the first round of LCQ I did a PB of 62.5m and everyone was telling me congrats, good job, be happy it is a PB, but inside my head my thoughts were “no, this is not my full potential, I can go way further” which I did, I went 69.3m in the second round.

What would be a successful season for you?

Successful season for me would be a season where I achieve all of my goals, and I don’t get injured.

What is your favorite song to listen to prior competing?

I really like listening to songs by “Neffex” they really get me pumped up and excited.

What’s your superpower, or what’s your spirit animal?

I don’t think I have a superpower, I just know if I want to achieve something I’ve got to be the hardest working guy. In Ukraine, every year has it’s spirit animal, so when I was born it was a Tiger, so I guess my spirit animal is a Tiger, haha.

You’re a new addition to the crayon box. What color would you be and why?

I won’ be in there, because I’m a marker. JJJJJ

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I would like to say big thank you to the president of Ukrainian Water Ski Federation and my sponsor, the person who made all of my dreams come true, Alexey Martynov.

Also to my dad Nikolay Filchenko my mom Shorena Filchenko, my brother Nikita Filchenko, my girlfriend Emma Brunel, and my gear sponsors Stokes and D3 skis.