The determined adolescent is equally at home with a single or double blade, cutting through churning whitewater with the precision of a Jedi’s lightsaber or a samurai’s sword and inspiring fear in the hearts of her rivals.
E. Leibfarth Olympic Games Tokyo 2020
Before ever stepping foot on the whitewater slalom course on July 25 at the Tokyo Summer Olympics, Bryson City, North Carolina’s own Evy Leibfarth, 17, has already created history on a global scale.
According to the International Canoe Federation, out of the 82 participants from 34 countries competing in the whitewater slalom event at the Olympics, she is the youngest.
Nearly 30 years after men began competed in C1 at the 1992 Barcelona Games, she is also the first American woman to compete in WC1, or women’s slalom canoe, in the Olympics.
When asked about joining Squad USA, Leibfarth said,
“Being a member of such a wonderful team consisting of incredibly inspiring athletes is just kind of a dream come true for me.” He made these remarks from Europe last week before departing for Tokyo.
My expectation is that meeting and conversing with the other athletes on Team USA will be incredibly motivating for me.
Furthermore, I find it absolutely ridiculous that women’s canoe will be included in the Olympics this year for the very first time. I’m looking forward to that a great deal,” she stated.
At the 2019 ICF World Championships in Spain, 15-year-old Leibfarth won the United States the coveted and sole slot for women in Tokyo. She has been on a roll of racing success since since, only slightly dampened by a bout with COVID-19 in 2020 and the pressure of having her Olympic hopes postponed for a year.
However, she has made a remarkable recovery, earning gold in WK1 and bronze in WC1 at the Junior Canoe World Championships in Slovenia this month. She entered the Olympics Opening Ceremony on July 23 as the Junior Slalom Kayak World Champion.
Lee Leibfarth, her father and a former slalom kayak racer, believes that Leibfarth has a chance to medal in Tokyo, as if all that weren’t reason enough to celebrate.
The clan contacted the Citizen Times from Slovenia last week.
Canoeing, Kayaking, and Controlling COVID-19
Since several international races were cancelled due to the pandemic in 2020, Leibfarth missed most of the action.
She spent much of her time at home, training in a pink kayak on the Nantahala River, home to the renowned Nantahala Outdoor Center.
On the other hand, she Contracted the Coronavirus in November.
She also noted that she was vaccinated in April against COVID-19, even though the International Olympic Committee does not require athletes to be vaccinated against the virus.
“Some of my symptoms lasted for a couple months, which was rough with training, but I’ve been back to normal for months now,” she said.
She had been looking forward to Tokyo 2020 since she was 7 years old, and after finally qualifying, she had to wait another year because of the pandemic, which was extremely taxing.
Her Time at the Olympics
- An ex-Olympian (2020)
- The 12th (K1) and 18th (Olympic) Games of Tokyo 2020 (canoe slalom)
She Competed in the World Championships
- In 2021, these rankings were the most up-to-date: third (CSLX), eleventh (K1), and seventeenth (S) (C1)
- 2019 and 2021 are the years of participation.
- Overall Best Result: Third Place (2019) (CSLX)
Some Information About Her Private Life:
Lee Leibfarth and Jean Folger’s daughter.
She is committed to training full-time while pursuing a degree in biology at Davidson College.
I enjoy sketching, going on hikes, skiing, and making gourmet meals in my spare time.
Evy might be drawing in the team tent right before the gun goes off, so keep an eye out for her.
At the age of 15, Evy played in her first World Cup.
At age 4, Evy gave kayaking a try for the first time.
