Boating contributor, 8-time USA barefoot waterskiing champion, joins ranks of Wayne Gretzy, Mike Ditka and others.
For 8-time USA Barefoot Waterskiing champion, Zenon Bilas, life is a circle.
Bilas, 58, started skiing on tiny, Round Lake, Ilinois, outside of Chicago. It was on those shores that the local Ukrainian immigrant community, to which Bilas’ parents belonged, purchased land for recreation. “Dad took us fishing,” recalled, Bilas. “Fishing led to a boat, and a boat led to an outboard and the outboard – a 7.5 hp Evinrude – led to skiing.”
Zenon Bilas is a 2020 inductee into the Ukrainian Sports Hall of Fame. Courtesy ZenonBilas.com
