Athlete Stories

Paddling stories from professional athletes. Get stoked with tales from those pushing the boundaries of today’s kayaking, stand up paddling, canoe, and whitewater rafting.

Athlete Stories

Geologist Paddles, Studies Mighty Stikine; Releases Film

For Rye Hester, the seventh time is the charm. That’s how many times the kayaker has been down Canada’s famed Stikine River, descending it...
Eugene Buchanan -
Athlete Stories

Hearn and Others Cleared on Reflecting Pool Vandalism Charges as DOJ Admits “Botched Installation”

According to multiple national news sources, Federal prosecutors asked that indictment charges against former U.S. Olympic canoeist David Hearn be dismissed. He was previously...
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Athlete Stories

Oklahoma City Hosts the World—and Evy Leibfarth Takes Silver (By Kent Ford)

The lead story from the World Championships in Oklahoma City has to be Evy Leibfarth's silver-medal performance in women's kayak, where she was beaten only...
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Athlete Stories

Kelsey Pfendler Breaks Speed Record for Cali to Hawaii Row

So, the US celebrated its 250th anniversary. In the paddling world, there was almost bigger news on the 4th. On July 4, at 12:54 a.m.,...
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Athlete Stories

Analyzing New Paddling Film Apex

There’s another Hollywood movie out putting whitewater in the limelight. Fifty-four years after the release of the Burt Reynolds movie “Deliverance,” and 32 years...
Eugene Buchanan -
Athlete Stories

Three-time C-1 Olympian Davey Hearn Arrested in Reflecting Pool Incident (Bonus: Hearn’s Attorney’s Video!)

While he might just use one blade paddling, three-time whitewater C-1 Olympian Davey Hearn had both hands cuffed after being arrested recently by U.S....
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Athlete Stories

The Top 10 Whitewater Kayaking YouTube Channels!

“Alright, just one more video...” It's a phrase said by many-a-paddler deep into a whitewater YouTube binge session. Yep, there’s no shortage of epic...
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Athlete Stories

Packrafting In Grand Canyon…Who Really Was The First?

Patting yourself on the back for packrafting the Grand? Before you bruise yourself, consider that people have been doing it for a long, long...
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Athlete Stories

International Whitewater Hall of Fame (IWHoF) Welcomes 2026 Class of Inductees

The International Whitewater Hall of Fame (IWHoF) welcomed its newest class of inductees on May 2, 2026, during a ceremony at the Canadian Canoe Museum in...
Eugene Buchanan -
Athlete Stories

Irish Eyes Are Smiling: Two Ireland Paddling Expeditions to Scope This Summer

All eyes are on Ireland this summer, with two marquee paddling expeditions planned for the Emerald Isle. Ireland By Paddle Juliana Brotzman and Nate Gueltzau have...
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Athlete Stories

Cali’s Golden Gate Is In! (Watch Rapid-by-Rapid Footie Here!)

Golden Gate Canyon on California's South Fork of the American is in, and boaters are getting after it large time. Don't believe us? Check out this...
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Athlete Stories

“Freeland: A Blackwater Story” Film Released on YouTube, Honors Steep-creekers, Pioneer Tim Gavin

It's never too late to honor someone you love. Such is the case with Justin Harris, an East Cosat boater who recently released a...
Eugene Buchanan -
Athlete Stories

Internet Sensation, Adventure Seeker Juanpa Zurita Takes on Kayaking (Courtesy of Evy Leibfarth)

He's wing-suited, big wave surfed, slacklined, cliff dove and off-road raced. Let's see how he does with whitewater kayaking. In a new six-part series...
Eugene Buchanan -
Athlete Stories

Lorenz Barone/Hard Guy Central: Crossing the Sahara, Atlantic, Amazon, and Andes by Human Power

Complaining about the logistics or length of your next paddle (no matter how long)? Take a chill pill and consider the plight of Italian...
Eugene Buchanan -
Athlete Stories

Half the Paddle, Twice the Man: Catching Up with C1 Sensation Erik Amason

Who tries a “new” line on the Southeast's notorious Oceana Rapid? In a C-1, to boot? Erik Amason does, going far right on the...
Eugene Buchanan -
Athlete Stories

Susan Norman Releases “Risk: A Life Saved By the River”

Susan Norman is a fixture in paddling circles throughout the country. She began paddling at age 2, introduced to whitewater while canoeing in the...
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Athlete Stories

Half Slices vs. Creekers on Creeks (by David Hughes)

Half-slice kayaks promise play and precision—but can also carry hidden risks when paddlers push them into high-consequence water. The tragic death of Dylan Wallace...
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Athlete Stories

It’s Back!!! Past-flood 30th Annual Green Race Goes Off Nov. 1!

After Hurricane Helene decimated portions of the Southeast in late September 2024, organizers of the popular Green River extreme kayak race near Asheville, N.C.,...
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Athlete Stories

Inside the White Salmon’s Orletta Time Trials

Each autumn, kayakers in the Columbia River Gorge region load up their longboats in the back of trucks and make their way to the...
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Athlete Stories

Evan Garcia Opens WW Store in White Salmon

There’s finally a new whitewater shop in White Salmon, Wash. Owned and operated by well-known whitewater kayaker Evan Garcia, Whitewater Bodega opened October 25...
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Athlete Stories

Three Brothers About to Complete Record Solo Row Across Pacific

Row, row, row your boat...That little ditty is likely being bantered around plenty by Ewan, Laughlin, and Jamie Maclean, three brothers from Scotland who,...
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Athlete Stories

Watch Footie of Dane Jackson’s Beatdown on Quebec’s Misstassinni, Resulting in First Swim in 5 Years (But You Would’ve Waaaay Sooner)

We're all between swims. Even kayaking's superstars. No one knows this better than Red Bull athlete Dane Jackson, who recently quipped on IG: "After...
Eugene Buchanan -
Athlete Stories

Tyler Bradt Releases Wizard’s Eye Film Series Aug. 15

Brace yourself. On Aug 15, Tyler Bradt—yes, of 186-foot Palouse Falls fame—releases "A High Seas Adventure— Unlocking the Nooks n' Crannies of the World,"...
Eugene Buchanan -
Athlete Stories

Corran Addison Learns Entrapment Lesson on PWC in Lachines

Longtime kayak designer and paddler Corran Addison of Soul Waterman (inventor of the world’s first planning hull, in fact) recently had a brush with—and...
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Films & Books

Single? Still Wear Your PFD! (New Safety Vid from Watersports Foundation!)

Profile shots, social posts, and Tinder swipes are all the rage for many people coming off a relationship to...
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Contests

Want a Free 6-Day Kayaking Trip to Costa Rica? Enter Amazing Vacations’ Sweepstakes!

Yes, you heard right. Want a free six-day kayaking trip to Costa Rica? Enter Amazing Vacations' Sweepstakes! They’re running...
Business

PTC Collab ’26 Hits Montgomery Whitewater Center Oct. 14-16

A lot can get done over a beer and a paddle blade. The Paddlesports Trade Coalition is holding its...

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Athlete Stories

Geologist Paddles, Studies Mighty Stikine; Releases Film

For Rye Hester, the seventh time is the charm....
Athlete Stories

Hearn and Others Cleared on Reflecting Pool Vandalism Charges as DOJ Admits “Botched Installation”

According to multiple national news sources, Federal prosecutors asked...
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Archive

Damming More Than a River, A Lifestyle

As the Ugandan government dams sections of the White Nile River, the villages that depend on the river seem destined to suffer a similar fate. PL guest correspondent Errik Hill was there to run the Silverback section of the river on it's final day. This is his report...
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Paddling Industry News

World Slalom Champs Come to U.S. Sept. 17-21 for First Time in 25 Years!

On Sept. 17-21, 2014, Maryland’s Adventure Sports Center International, the only mountaintop re-circulating whitewater course in the world, will host athletes from over 35 countries for the ICF World Slalom Championships, 25 years after the 1989 World Championship held on Maryland’s Savage River and marking just the second time in history the event has been held in the United States.
Miles De Feyter -
Paddling Industry News

Arctic Bound: Boomer, Korbulic, Stookesbery At It Again

Gluttons for punishment as much as pristine whitewater paddling, Ben Stookesberry, Chris Korbulic, Pedro Olivia and Erik Boomer are at it again, this time assembling a team for a 3,300-mile expedition through Canada’s Torngat wilderness to some of the most remote whitewater on the planet.
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