PARIS, France — North Carolina native Evy Leibfarth put her paddle-to-the-metal in the women's canoeing singles last week, earning her first Olympic medal. This week, she tested her skills in a new kayaking event.
On Sunday, Leibfarth was the fastest in her Kayak Cross heat. She advanced to the quarterfinals on Monday, where she ranked 3rd in her race. She did not advance to the finals.
Athletes sit in their kayaks on a ramp 15 feet above the roaring Olympic rapids and wait to drop down into the water. They will work around obstacles and each other, for a chance at winning gold.
One of these elite athletes is Leibfarth, who is making history as the first U.S. woman to compete in three canoe and kayak events at an Olympic Games.
Kayak Cross—a chaotic-looking addition to the Olympics—is now a part of the 2024 Paris Games canoe slalom events.
In Friday's Kayak Cross time trials, she completed the course with a time of 72.66 in her first run. On Saturday, Leibfarth finished in 1st place, qualifying her for the elimination rounds.
There were only four slalom events before “cross” entered the stage for the first time this year. And this is a contact sport.
The platforms drop and the athletes paddle through the narrow and challenging course with changing rapid patterns.
The 20-year-old took home a bronze medal on Wednesday in the women's canoe slalom finals with a final result of 109.95 seconds.
Leibfarth first got into a boat in the Nantahala River near her hometown of Bryson City. Now she's taking on rapids in Paris.
She felt the rush at an early age since her parents, Jean Fogler and Lee Leibfarth, were avid kayakers. Leibfarth’s dad even serves as her coach.
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