BURLINGTON, Wis. — Kate and Jacob Nelson grew up skiing on Browns Lake in Burlington. Now, they are national champions heading to the 2026 Pan American Games as members of Team USA.
Kate, 13, captured her third national title this past week. Jacob, 16, earned his first.
The two compete in three-event water skiing, which includes slalom, trick and jump.
"We do like to try to ski three or four times a day," Jacob said.
That training schedule takes them as far as Illinois.
"In the morning we drive an hour to go slalom and jump because that's the closest lake that has that," Kate said.
Their father, Aaron Nelson, said the drive to ski has always come from the kids themselves.
Watch: Burlington water skiing siblings win national titles ahead of 2026 Pan American Games
"The plan was just, you know, let them have access, and as soon as they say, 'Let's ski,' we're tripping over ourselves to get in the boat and pull them," Aaron said.
Water skiing runs in the family. Aaron competed in show skiing across Southeast Wisconsin before turning pro and performing in Holland, Germany and China.
Kate was on skis shortly after she could walk.
"At 18 months she was on a pair of wooden skis with a little PVC handle," their mother, Adriane Nelson, said.
A ski school in Florida helped shift their focus to competitive three-event skiing.
"I was going there to learn trick, but I also saw the long-distance jumping and the slalom, so that's kind of when I was like, oh, this is really cool," Jacob said.
Aaron said the family quickly recognized what that meant for their future.
"We kind of looked at each other and said, 'This is, I guess, what we're going to be doing right now,'" Aaron said.
Competing at a national and international level from Wisconsin comes with an added challenge most of their competitors do not face.
"It makes it tough skiing out of here," Jacob said.
To keep up with training, the siblings split their time in Florida and chose to be homeschooled. The sacrifices have already taken them to Worlds, an experience Kate said shaped her as a competitor.
"That was my first international trip for like a tournament, and it was just so fun. There were so many kids there, and it really benefited me, like talking to all the kids from different countries," Kate said.
This fall, the siblings will compete together as teammates for Team USA at the 2026 Pan American Games.
"Not very often you see siblings, especially me being a boy and her being a girl, so it's cool that we get to compete together and even be teammates," Jacob said.
Kate said she welcomes the added pressure of representing her country.
"It's going to be a lot more pressure, but pressure is fun because, like, you want to do better," Kate said.
Jacob said the opportunity carries a meaning all its own.
"It's just a good feeling just being able to know you're competing for your country," Jacob said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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