Sarah Teelow: Leading Australian waterskier dies following endurance race crash near Sydney

The 20-year-old was taking part in a 75 mile race

(GETTY IMAGES)

Sarah Teelow, a leading Australian waterskier, has died following a crash during an endurance race on the Hawkesbury River north of Sydney on Sunday.

The 20-year-old fell off her skis soon after the start of the high-speed 75 mile Bridge-to-Bridge race, say police. She was air-lifted to Sydney's Royal North Shore Hospital in a critical condition with spinal and head injuries but died late Monday.

Teelow was the daughter of two-time world waterski champion Tania Teelow and had recently returned from the World Waterski Racing Championships in Spain, where she won the formula 2 category.

Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show that Teelow was the seventh waterskier to die in an accident in Australia in the last five years.