Waterskiing Baby Glides Across Florida Lake: Video

POLK CITY, FL — Zyla St. Onge can’t walk just yet at 6 months of age, but she can water ski. So well, in fact, the baby may have broken a world record by skiing nearly 700 feet on Lake Grew in Polk City.

The attempt that may have earned the child a record occurred on May 21, according to the World Barefoot Center. It was only her second try. The first attempt occurred on May 20 on Silver Lake in Winter Haven. That time she successfully skied 62 feet.

The very next day, “Zyla crushed the record,” the center wrote on its YouTube page. “World’s cutest water skier skied a dominant 686.4 feet at the age of six months, 27 days.”

According to the center, the record was previously held at 100 feet by a baby who was 6 months, 29 days old.

Zyla’s father, Keith St. Onge, is a professional skier. He reportedly also has a world record pending in barefoot waterskiing.

Zyla’s possible record-breaking trek across the lake was captured on video. The footage shows the pint-sized baby, in a life jacket, standing on skis that were attached together. Adults are seen dotting her path part of the way to step in if something had gown awry.

“I’d say that’s pretty much the youngest water skier in the world, hands down,” Keith said on the video after Zyla’s successful run.

USA Water Ski has yet to confirm that a youth record was set during Zyla’s attempt.

The plucky toddler isn’t the only record-breaker to make news out of Florida recently. A 13-year-old boy recently snagged a state record by catching a 63.8-pound flathead catfish on the Chatahoochee. Charles Patchen didn’t want to go fishing May 15, but after learning his catch was a record-breaker, he said he was pretty pleased with the decision to go.

“I was so tired after reeling it in that I fell back into the boat to rest,” Patchen said. “But I’m glad my mom made me go fishing that day because now I am the catfish master.”

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission confirmed Patchen’s record.

“Charles’ flathead catfish is a great catch to add to our state records — and caught on a 14-pound test line, by a 13-year-old at that,” said Tom Champeau, FWC’s director of the Division of Freshwater Fisheries Management. “Just one more reason why Florida is the ‘Fishing Capital of the World.’”

It may also be the waterskiing baby capital of the world if Zyla’s record is confirmed.

Screenshot of World Barefoot Center's YouTube video