Competitive water skiing has certainly seen its share of skiers come and go over the years.  Some are taken out by injury and others simply make the choice to retire while they are still on top.  One exception is Kristi Overton-Johnson, not only is she still on top, but she's skiing better than ever and her long list of accomplishments just keeps getting longer.

Fans have followed her career and her recognition has spanned generations from the older skiers who have been following her career for years to the newer skiers of the sport.  Aquaskier recently had the opportunity to talk with Kristi as she was training at Lake Kristi in preparation for the last two World Cup stops in Europe.

AQUASKIER First of all, I just want to congratulate you on an exceptional career and another great season. KRISTI Thank you very much.     AQUASKIER Are the wins as important now as they were earlier in your career? KRISTI Well, I guess that I'm just at a different point in my life now than I was years ago when I was in my teens, I appreciate them a lot more now.  I don't put as much emphasis on them because I realize now that skiing is not my entire life. I have a two year old son to take care of and a wonderful husband. That's where my main emphasis is, it's not on skiing. The wins are wonderful but I'm just having so much more fun now than I did in my earlier career.		"I was fortunate enough to have a family that loved me  and they've provided me with so much to do this but always told me if I was ready to stop I could always do it."

AQUASKIER
What's been your secret for staying on top for so many years?
KRISTI

I guess it's just having fun. Back in '87 and '88 I was really kind of tired of it , just putting so much pressure on myself.  I just learned to go out and do the best I can and have fun.  It's when I start focusing on what other people are doing that I don't ski as well, so I just try to focus on what I do well out there and just really work on my technique and concentrate on those things when I'm in competition, not whether I'm going to beat someone else.

AQUASKIER

How much influence would you say your physical strength has in your skiing performance?

KRISTI

I think that it helps because when I get in trouble I can get out of it, but I have technique that I really rely on.  I think that's why I'm consistent and why I've been able to stay on top for so long too is because I'm not real erratic out there.  I try to be smooth whether it's whitecaps or glass calm, I try to ski the same.

AQUASKIER

Do you supplement your on-water training with weight training or aerobics?

KRISTI

I do in the off-season, starting in September or October I'm in the gym at least three days a week, doing aerobics and a lot of weight training but I don't quit skiing.  I try to ski at least a couple of times a week so that I keep it through the winter because it's so much harder to start all over again in February when it's just freezing.  I get in tournaments where we're traveling so much and gone for weeks at a time.  I'll come back in a gym and then I'm too sore to ski because I hadn't worked out for two or three weeks because I've been out of the country, so I'm not real good in keeping up with it in the on-season.

AQUASKIER

What's your typical training routine on the water?

KRISTI

It varies, depends on the timing of the year.  Like right now, I've had a four week break so I've slowed down just a little bit and I'm starting to pick it up again because I will leave in a week and a half for Europe.  I'm really starting to get focused again and it's just maintaining focus and trying not to get burned out and being injured.  In the spring it's getting in shape, so it's running a lot of passes and getting strong. As the summer goes on, it's just keeping confidence, going out and running a lot of buoys up the rope and that way when I go to the event, if I just ran 39 off at home, I'm on a high.  I usually take two sets, one set will be right up the rope and really working on things, the next set I'll keep the rope a little longer on work on some technique.

AQUASKIER

What line lengths do you usually start at in practice?
KRISTI

I always start at 28 except when I'm trying ski's I'll start at 32.

AQUASKIER

What about tournaments?
KRISTI

28 usually, sometimes 32.

AQUASKIER

Who do you train with?

KRISTI

My husband Tim Johnson.

AQUASKIER

Where do you train?
KRISTI

We ski in Keystone Heights, Florida.  We have a lake down near Gainesville (FL) and come May we move up to North Carolina and ski on Lake Kristi until August.  We come here because my family lives here and they can help watch the baby on the weekends.  My brother and husband race Legend cars on the weekends, so it kind of makes for a fun summer and I get some help.

AQUASKIER

How many tournaments do you ski in each season?
KRISTI

Well there's three tours, there's the U.S. Pro Tour, the World Cup Circuit and the Women's Tour and in addition to that I'll have record tournaments, so probably about 23-24 tournaments a year.

AQUASKIER

Do you have a favorite site you like to ski on?
KRISTI

I enjoyed skiing over in Italy this year (Laughter), those sites are pretty nice. It's always kinda neat to ski here at my home site but there's a lot of pressure.  It is nice, the crowd support, just to have people to come and ski, you know, where your parents have worked so hard to make it so nice.

AQUASKIER

Does your ski react differently to the water on the different lakes?

KRISTI

Yea, everybody's does. The water temperature makes a difference, the depth of the lake makes a difference, and then you've got rollers to contend with.  That's what was so nice over in Europe, 

something about the water over there in Italy and France was just perfect this year, and the U.S. Open also.  I could just tell my ski was dialed in perfectly for those conditions. Now the water's getting really warm and I can tell that I need to speed my ski up a little bit.  You just have to not get frustrated when you're out there and realize that sometimes it's just a little tweak of the ski and it will all be better.

AQUASKIER

What will you do to your ski to speed it up?
KRISTI

Reduce the angle on the wing is what I start with, that's the easiest thing to do and then you can always put it back.  Then we'll start moving bindings around because that's pretty simple, and then we'll go to moving the actual fin if we have to.

AQUASKIER

Do you readjust your ski very often for the different site conditions?
KRISTI

No never. If anything it's just take a degree or two or add a degree on the wing, but I haven't touched my ski since the day after the Masters.

AQUASKIER What would you say your greatest strength is? KRISTI I guess being able to really focus when I'm out there and just have fun.  I'm able to go out and just think about what I am doing and not what other people are doing.		" I just thank God everyday I get to do something so wonderful for a living.  Even though my body does hurt, it's a lot of fun."

AQUASKIER

Do you have any problem areas you are currently working on?

KRISTI

A lot of health problems more than anything, just injuries and stuff.  I'm getting ready to have neck surgery September 28th and that's going to put me out for quite a while.  So, right now in my career, I've got the confidence, I've got the experience, it's just staying physically strong.  I've had the best season I've ever had and I've probably been at about 60% physically.  So that's my goal after this surgery, If I can get back to 100% and really focus on eating great and working out hard, then maybe I can make it to the Olympics one day.

AQUASKIER

What are some of the upcoming events you are preparing for?

KRISTI

I leave for Europe the 23rd of August, and those are the last two World Cup events.  I've already won the World Cup series this year so that's going to be kinda nice.  I can go and relax and not worry about points.  Then I have the America's Cup Challenge in West Palm Beach at the end of September.  So basically, I've had a month off and I'm getting ready to have another month off, or about three weeks off after Europe.

AQUASKIER

What advice can you give to the newcomers of the sport?
KRISTI

Do it because you love it. (Laughter)  I've been really blessed to make a wonderful living at it but I've also just had so much fun doing it and that's been my focus.  It's not being in the limelight or making all this money doing it, which I've been blessed to do, but just to go out and have fun and do it, just because you want to, not because someone else wants you to.  Sometimes I see parents get so wrapped in it that the kids are miserable out there.  I was fortunate enough to have a family that loved me and they've provided me with so much to do this but always told me if I was ready to stop I could always do it.

AQUASKIER

Does your brother ski?
KRISTI

No, only for fun but very rarely.  He works with my Dad in the Internet department and he races Legend cars on the weekends.

AQUASKIER

Since you've finished Law School and passed the Bar, do you give much thought to a career after water skiing?

KRISTI

Well I'd like to have some more kids, maybe two more if I can talk my husband into it. (Laughter)  We have a 2 1/2 year old now.  Mainly I went to Law School for the education and to do it because I had the time and thought it would be a good thing to have.  I took the Bar, my husband did the same thing,  because I had already been through Law School and it was the next step.  It was a kind of a challenge and I wanted to make sure I could do it.  After I passed that, I just really had no desire to be a lawyer, it doesn't interest me, but if I do have to use it I can.  I'd love to do something with it to help kids or help those who can't help themselves.

AQUASKIER

How did you meet your husband?
KRISTI

It was back in 1990, he was on a lake in Florida and I needed some place to ski and a mutual friend of ours ended up getting us all together.  I kept my boat at his lake and we would go ski every morning and that's how we met.  I was kinda using him for his lake. (Laughter)

AQUASKIER

What's your son's name?
KRISTI

Ty

AQUASKIER

Do you have any pets?
KRISTI

Two dogs, a German Shepherd and a Lab.

AQUASKIER

Do you ever take them in the boat?
KRISTI

The Lab rides sometimes, she's spoiled rotten, but before we had a Cocker Spaniel too that just passed away.  So we had three and it got too much to carry them all in the boat.

AQUASKIER

Do you have any plans to ever return to North Carolina to live?
KRISTI

Not while I'm skiing because I really need to be there (FL) the warm months to stay on top of the sport.  I am getting older, so I need to work hard at it now and focus on it, but maybe once skiing is over.  Me and my husband talk about it a little bit, but he just enjoys Florida and we have a wonderful life there so I don't know, you're guess is as good as mine, my parents ask me everyday. (Laughter)

AQUASKIER

Is there anything that you would especially like for people to know about you?

KRISTI
Yea, I just am really thankful to be able to do something that I love and God has just really blessed my family, my parents, my husband and I.  We just are really happy and water skiing has provided a lot, a lot of wonderful friends and a lot of wonderful experiences that I can take, not just in competition, but I can take what I've learned and apply it to everything in life.  That's what's been so wonderful!  It's made me a better person and I just thank God everyday I get to do something so wonderful for a living even though my body does hurt, it's a lot of fun.

I just really had to realize that skiing is not everything. It's a busy lifestyle that we are leading, with all of the tournaments and traveling all the time, and you start to put so much focus on what's not important.  Once I slowed down and put God where He is supposed to be, in first place, then everything else just fell into place.  Not so much all the wins, but I just felt so much at peace, an inner joy that it didn't matter what I did on the lake, I knew my self worth came from somewhere else.

Kristi is sponsored by  Correct Craft,  Iconn,  Gladiator Wetsuits, Nevin Sports and  Overton's.

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