Camille Duvall

1960-

American waterskier

Camille Duvall, "The Golden Goddess" of professional water skiing, holds more titles in slalom than all other women waterskiers combined. Her nearly thirty year dominance in the sport is unprecedented, and her impact on the public's perception of water skiing helped it gain recognition and popularize the sun-drenched water sport. Her impact is so great that it is difficult to pinpoint just where the legend of Camille Duvall can be separated from the sport of professional water skiing.

Growing Up

Camille Duvall started water skiing when she was only four. Born July 11, 1960, to Sam and Diane Duvall, Camille and her brother were provided every opportunity to achieve success as a professional waterskiers. The single-mindedness with which the family went about their pursuit of excellence was stunning. Camille won her first tournament when she was six years old, and her determination to be better than everyone else was already apparent. She practiced near Greenville, South Carolina, on a private lake that her father, an executive with a construction company, leased for the sole use of his two athletically gifted children.

For hours on end each day, Camille worked with private coaches on courses that had been set up for her and her brother, complete with ramps and a variety of boats to simulate any of the variables they might face in a competition. It has been estimated that Duvall's father spent nearly $25,000 a year, for ten years, on his children. His intense desire to see his children succeed at any cost helped mold Camille into one of the best talents the world of water skiing has ever known.

Family Affair

Duvall's brother Sam also happened to be one of the sport's fiercest competitors. Perhaps one of the most talented sister-brother duo in any sport, Sam and Camille Duvall early on earned the nicknames "Golden Boy" and "Golden Girl."

As Camille matured, her popularity increased at the same rate, if not faster, as her skills on the water. Many believe her rising fame was due in no small part to her beauty. Duvall matured into a tall, statuesque woman whose physical presence, many said, was as impressive as her skiing feats. Her looks earned her the moniker "The Golden Goddess."

But her records clearly indicate that she came to win, not to show off for the crowd. In fact, Duvall was often unhappy—and rightly so—about the attention paid to her appearance. She wanted the emphasis on her achievements and what she could accomplish as an athlete. After high school, Duvall returned to Florida (the family had moved to Dallas during Camille's high school years) to concentrate solely on her skiing. She soon suffered a knee injury that, though not serious, pushed her away from the sport for a few years.

After a brief hiatus from water skiing, Duvall returned to the sport in 1981 and surpassed her former accomplishments. She rejoined the U.S. Elite Water Ski Team, and from 1983 to 1987 she helped that team to world championship victories. She also won the 1985 Women's World Slalom Championships, going on to capture many national, professional and Masters titles in the process.

Olympics Only A Dream

Unfortunately the sport of water skiing would not become an Olympic event until 1996—a few years after Duvall left the spotlight due to neck injuries and after her decision to retire in 1993. Camille Duvall would not be able to add Olympic gold to her list of accomplishments, but that did not lessen the impact of her phenomenal achievements, including being cited in 2000 as one of Sports Illustrated 's Top 100 Female Athletes of the Century.

Duvall's reach as a human being extends beyond the world of water sports and her three-decade tenure as the most dominant female athlete water skiing ever knew. She graduated from New York University's School of Broadcasting and used her communications skills in multiple arenas. She has been a television reporter and producer for various networks, including such sports powerhouses as ESPN and Fox Sports, as well as lesser known but still important venues such as MSG Network and Oxygen Sports. Duvall also published a book in 1992, Camille Duvall's Instructional Guide To Water Skiing.

After her retirement from the world of professional water skiing, Duvall—who has added her husband Byron Hero's last name to her own—has been a fixture in New York City's Upper East Side, where she has been for the past 14 years. She is a mother of two who wears many hats. Some of the work with which she is currently involved includes coaching the U.S. National Water Ski team (the first woman to hold that position); serving on the Board of Directors for New York City's 2012 bid for the Olympic Games; and serving as a member of the New York City Sports Commission. She is also the cofounder and marketing director for Duvall Competition Skis. In 2003, Duvall-Hero became the 47th person elected into the Water Ski Hall of Fame.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: Camille Duvall-Hero, 1356 Third Ave, New York, NY 10021.

Chronology

Awards and Accomplishments

SELECTED WRITINGS BY DUVALL:

Camille Duvall's Instructional Guide to Water Skiing, Fireside Press, 1992.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Books

"Camille Duvall."Great Women in Sports. Detroit: Visible Ink Press, 1996.

"Camille Duvall."Newsmakers, Issue Cumulation. Detroit, MI: Gale Research, 1996.

Duvall, Camille. Camille Duvall's Instructional Guide to Water Skiing. Fireside Press, 1992.

Periodicals

Falla, Jack. "Wild, Wet and Wondrous."Sports Illustrated (August 5, 1985).

Neil, Mike and Linda Marx. "No one beats slalom champ Camille Duvall at making waves where the buoys are."People Weekly (July 13, 1987).

Other

Announcement of Duvall's induction into Hall of Fame. http://www.usawaterski.org/pages/Current%20News/CN2003DuvallHallofFame.htm (January 29, 2003).

"Camille Duvall-Hero: Trailblazing in Action." Women's Sports Foundation. http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/cgi-bin/iowa/athletes/article.html?record=27 (January 29, 2003).

Sketch by Eric Lagergren