Chalk one up for Evy. Twenty-year-old Evy Leibfarth from North Carolina made history by winning the bronze medal in the women’s canoe singles (C1) event at the Paris 2024 Olympics. This marks her first Olympic medal, the first time a U.S. woman has medaled in Olympic C1 canoe slalom, and the first U.S. slalom medal since Rebecca Giddens won the Silver in Women’s K1 in 2004.
Leibfarth’s journey to the podium was not easy. She almost did not qualify for the women’s canoe singles final, starting 12th in the lineup. Despite the odds, she delivered an extraordinary performance, hanging on for a medal as the top names in the sport struggled. The tension peaked when the final paddler, Czech Gabriela Satkova, incurred numerous penalties, sealing Leibfarth’s place on the podium. She narrowly missed the semi-finals in Women’s Kayak Cross.
Perhaps now the U.S.’s best hope moving forward to continue carrying the whitewater slalom torch to the Olympic podium, Leibfarth’s competitive journey began early. She got in her first kayak when she was four, with her father, a former National Team coach, coaching her as she started racing. She joined the Nantahala Racing Club and paddled at the Nantahala River every day after school. Later, she enrolled in online school to train formally.
At age 12, she travelled to Europe to race in the ECA Junior Cups, paving her way to the National Team, which she was finally old enough to make in 2019. She had an incredible first season and brought home two World Cup medals, two Junior World Championships medals, and two Pan-American medals. Evy also earned an Olympic quota for her fourth-place finish at the World Championships in La Seu d’Urgell, Spain. Her second year on the team, Evy won two more World Cup medals. Throughout it all, she has trained relentlessly, —from summers in Europe to winters down under—while always returning to her roots in North Carolina and training at the renowned Nantahala Outdoor Center.
After her results at the 2019 World Championships and the 2021 U.S. Olympic Team trials, she raced in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in the WC1 and WK1 classes, taking 12th in K-1 and 18th in C-1.
Watch Evy’s winning run here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y60Ts6q5Tek
About Evy’s NOC Training Grounds
Leibfarth’s training grounds, The Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC) in Bryson City, NC, spans 500 acres and has been the home training waters for multiple slalom Olympians. Located where the Appalachian Trail meets the Nantahala River, the NOC offers many activities from rafting, canoeing and kayaking to biking and hiking. With over 50 years of history, the center is more than just a training site; it’s a destination with beautiful lodging
Early Evy Paddling Pics!
8 THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT EVY LEIBFARTH
(courtesy American Canoe Association)
- Evy made her World Cup debut at 15-years-old in 2019 in Bratislava, Slovakia.
- Evy’s first World Cup podium was a third place in the WC1 event in Tacen, Slovenia at age 15 in 2019
- Before Evy goes to the starting gate, you may find her drawing in the team tent.
- Evy first tried kayaking when she was four years old and has loved it ever since. She is coached by her father, Lee Leibfarth.
- When she isn’t on the river, Evy enjoys drawing, hiking, snowboarding, and cooking.
- 2019 was a breakout season for Evy. She competed at the World Championships in La Seu d’Urgell, Spain, and finished 4th in WC1 and 21st in WK1, qualifying an Olympic quota for the U.S.
- Evy plans to major in Biology at Davidson College while continuing to train full-time.
- At the Pan-American Games, she won gold in the WK1 event and silver in Extreme Slalom.