Mikayo ‘Kayo’ Mundy was awarded a Tier 1 Scholarship within the 2022 Sport Australia Hall of Fame Scholarship and Mentoring Program and was paired with Malcolm Page OAM as his Mentor. Kayo is the first wakeboarder to be part of the program.
Kayo was born on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast in 2003 and is a dual Canadian-Australian citizen. He was born into the sport and at two years of age was being towed behind a boat in his Dad’s arms. He then entered the Cable Wakeboards Nationals as a 10-year-old.
In his international debut Kayo, finished third at the Asia Oceania Championships in Chinese Taipei in the U/15 division as a 12-year-old. He then took gold in the 2016 Canadian National Championships in the U/13 category before winning the U/15 title at the State of America Games in the USA.
Kayo cemented his reputation by winning the open men’s title at the New Zealand national championships in 2017, and completing the year with a silver medal in the U/13 category at the World Wakeboard Titles.
More accolades followed, and they included the Mark Kenney Memorial Award for most promising wakeboarder, the Australian Junior Riders Choice Award in 2018, and the Junior Pro World Title in 2019. He was also voted North Coast Regional Vocational Student of the Year in 2020 due to his achievements as a wakeboarder and a student of Film and Screen Media at TAFE. He is now on course to complete a Bachelor of Film and Screen Media at university, at just 18 years of age.
Kayo is excited to continue his journey as an international wakeboarder and holds aspirations to be a successful film director.
“To be honest, I’ve watched this Scholarship for ages unsure if I should apply. Cable Wakeboard is not a mainstream sport and to achieve such recognition and have an opportunity to be a part of the Sport Australia Hall of Fame family is a life changing achievement. It is incredible for myself and for this sport in Australia. The funding will allow me to achieve my goals; to maintain my university studies and compete on the World circuit. The access to a sporting legend such as Malcolm, that has walked the path and continued through to help others is exactly what I want to do and will appreciate his knowledge and experience to help me steer through this journey. Bring on 2022!”.” – Mikayo Mundy on being selected as a Tier 1 Scholarship Holder.
Awards, Honours & Achievements
- 2016: Asia Oceania Championships, Kaohsiung, Taiwan – bronze, U15
- 2016: Canadian Nationals – gold, U13
- 2016: State of America Games – gold, U15
- 2016: New Zealand Nationals – gold, Open Men’s, age 12
- 2016: U13 World Wakeboard Titles, Camsur, Philippines – silver
- 2017: Mark Kenney Memorial Award Winner – Most Promising Wakeboarder on and off the water Winner
- 2017: IWWF U15 Asia Oceania Championships – Champion, age 13
- 2018: Junior Riders Choice Awards Australia – Winner, age 14
- 2019: WWA U19 Junior Pro Championships – World Champion, age 15
- 2018: Plastic Playground World Series Round 1, Bangkok Thailand – Champion
- 2018: Plastic Playground World Series Round 2, London England – Ranking 1st in Series, Junior Pro U18, age 14
- 2019: WWA World Championships, Playa Del Carmen Mexico – U19 Champion, age 15
- 2019: IWWF World Titles, Campana Argentina – 9th, Pro Division Traditional, age 15
- 2022: Sport Australia Hall of Fame Scholarship Holder – Tier 1
