A 13-YEAR-OLD from Dunbar is already beating some of the best wakeboarders in the world after excelling at an elite competition in Argentina.

Eve Smith-Lang, a pupil at Dunbar Grammar School, finished fourth at the IWWF World Wakeboarding Championships in Buenos Aires earlier this month, despite being the youngest competitor in the final round.

The talented teenager told Courier Sport: “I am really pleased with the result, and proud, but disappointed to have missed out on the podium. I do love, though, how I get to contribute to promoting the sport for other girls.”

And she added: “It was a lot of work to train. The championships were meant to be in the summer last year but had to be postponed, which meant that I had to train through the winter time, which is a pretty cold time to be in the water.

“I think the lowest temperature I trained in was about two degrees, which isn’t easy!”

Smith-Lang usually trains at Foxlake Adventures, near Dunbar, with the county wakeboarding park also her main sponsors.

“They were really great and stayed open as late in the season as they could so I could keep training,” she said.

“But, eventually, mid-winter hit and it just wasn’t possible, so I ended up having to travel down to England to train.”

Smith-Lang first started wakeboarding when she was only eight years old.

“I just loved being in the water,” she said. “As soon as I tried it, I fell in love with it. If you’re dedicated, you can progress quite quickly, and I was really determined.”

Her excellent result at the World Championships is just another step in the Team GB athlete’s successful run in the sport.

She was the first Scottish girl to be selected for Team GB in the sport, and it was a GB vest she wore in South America.

Her family have been fully supportive, with her mum Sarah adding: “It has been an amazing experience for Eve.

“She is thankful for the funding she received from both the governing body BWSW (British Water Ski and Wakeboard) and East Lothian Council, and she would like to thank everyone who sent her messages of support and encouragement whilst she was away.”