TERI LARSON JONES wasn’t an athlete until she reached her mid-30s. Today, her sport of choice is barefoot waterskiing, widely considered to be waterskiing’s ultimate challenge. She started competing for fun in 2003, but it wasn’t until she skied in the 2009 Senior World Championships held in Otaki, New Zealand, that she became serious about competing (she came home from that event with a bronze medal in tricks and a silver medal in jump). Now, at the age of 42, she continues to achieve a new personal best every season in all three of her events — slalom, trick, and jump — and plans to push herself as hard as she can, regardless of her age.
Teri describes barefooting as an incredibly challenging sport that taps into a part of herself she didn’t know existed. She feels a physical and mental victory every time she pushes herself to a new level, accomplishing feats of performance on the water that seem beyond comprehension. As a Wisconsin resident, most of Teri’s barefoot training is accomplished off the water — the Wisconsin weather simply doesn’t allow for water sports during the majority of the year. Much of her training involves kettlebell and natural fitness training at the Monkey Bar Gym, where she also practices Eischens Yoga for strength, balance, and alignment. For off-season cardio training she takes full advantage of the snow with downhill and cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing. When she’s not training, Teri (who recently earned her PhD!) teaches a general chemistry course at the University of Wisconsin-Madison that examines global and health-related issues through the lens of chemistry. She truly enjoys helping all of her students achieve their personal academic goals, but particularly enjoys helping young women succeed in science.
Despite these accomplishments, Teri has faced many challenges, her most difficult being a spinal disc injury from a fall in the water in May 2010. She went from being a highly active and competitive athlete to barely getting out of bed each day. The pain and fatigue was so incapacitating she truly believed she would never ski again. But after cervical spine surgery, she was back in the water by March 2011, later going on to win gold in all three events and the overall title in her division at the 2011 U.S. Nationals. Even with this enormous setback, she was more determined than ever to get back in the water. Overcoming this injury, and coming back stronger than ever, has given Teri a confidence that has affected all aspects of her life.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS & CREDENTIALS:
- 2008 World Barefoot Championships (Otaki, New Zealand) with a silver medal in jump, bronze medal in tricks
- 2011 U.S. National Barefoot National Championships with a gold medal in slalom, trick, jump and overall
- Assistant judge and scorer for the USA Waterski division for barefoot waterskiing
- Overcame severe collapsed cervical disc injury
- Earned PhD, December 2010
2012 INTENTIONS:
- Set Women’s III national records in tricks and jump
- Set Senior Women’s Division (age 35+) world record in jump
- Achieve top 3 overall at the 2012 World Championships
- Achieve top 20 overall in the Open Division World Rankings
Way to go, Teri!!! I look forward to seeing you SOAR on the water. You are amazing!
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You must be back from sun & sand. Congrads Hope you are healed up & be at 2912 Nationals
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Dr. T, you are a ROCK-STAR! Keep on shining girlfriend!!!!!!!
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Way to go Teri!! Impressed with you as always.
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Teri, thanks for being an inspiration on every level!
What a perfect compliment for you to be selected by Athleta.
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You really are an inspiration, Teri! Way to go!
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Teri, great seeing your bio in my favorite catalog! Keep up the hard work!
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WAY TO KICK ASS, TERI! I am so proud of you and all of your accomplishments.
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I’m proud to call you my sister (in-law)!! Congratulations!!!!
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Congratulations Dr. Larson!
I really enjoyed having you as my professor, and I wish you luck in the upcoming season!
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I can’t wait to see all your excellent Athleta apparel in our Eischens Yoga Classes!
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So happy I took the time to read this! What an inspiration you are and I love the education on barefoot skiing! I’ve never tried it but the part about “part of the exhilaration of barefooting comes from knowing you are always on the edge of disaster…”
I can relate on the injury thing. I know you’ve likely gotten advice from everyone about how you can bounce back from injury (which can some times be so annoying, albeit everyone wants to help and offer you their own learnings) BUT, if you haven’t looked into it yet, please explore Muscle Activation Techniques by Greg Roskopf – HIGHLY valuable for anyone wanting to perform at peak!
Cheers,
Jeannie
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Teri, you’re an inspiration.
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Teri-You are truly an inspiration to us women-no matter what age you are, we can have soaring goals too. Thanks for your great story.
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The ice should be off the water soon, and ready for your tricks and jumps! Your drive is an inspiration, from your PhD to your skiing. So proud to know you!
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Nice job! We’ve never met but I am a barefoot waterskier myself, started in my 30′s as well and I’m also from Wisconsin originally (Iowa resident now). I used to check toesup.us daily for updates about you and Scott. I loved the progress you and Scott posted on that website and the “Legends” area is awesome. It really is motivating to see how y’all progress. Hope we get to meet and ski together someday.
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Loved your stories and accomplishments! Agreed, there is no greater rush than taking on the lake barefooted! I’ll look for your Results at this year’s nationals!
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WOW
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You are so amazing Teri! So glad to have met you at the Chicago Athleta store! Loved hearing and reading your story. Good luck to you in December and next years season!
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here’s the plan:
i pull the boat,yours or the barefoot malibu to fla. in march for 2 weeks.
the rest of you,Tony,ect fly down,come and go as you want.
you become Terri Larson Jones Scholz.
hows that for a plan, miss you guys,haven’t talked sense the badger game.
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