Evy Leibfarth, a slalom canoeist and kayaker from Bryson Metropolis, N.C., made the rostrum final week on the Paris Olympic Video games, successful the primary girls’s canoe slalom medal for Group USA since 2004. Ending with a formidable time of 109.95 (together with a two-second penalty for touching a gate), the 20-year-old paddler notched a third-place end to take residence the bronze—her first Olympic medal.
Video: Evy reacts to successful her first Olympic medal.
“I knew I had that good feeling on the water, the place I used to be on the market having fun with the second…however after I completed I didn’t assume it was going to be a medal,” Leibfarth informed Group USA’s information workforce. “Everybody right here is such wonderful paddlers and it was a really laborious course on the market.”
Leibfarth barely certified for the occasion, getting the final spot among the many 12 finalists to advance. She was the primary to run within the finals, leaving her to observe the remaining 11 racers attempt to beat her time. Ultimately, Australia’s Jessica Fox took gold with a time of 101.06 and Germany’s Elena Lilik earned silver with a time of 103.54.
“My first World Cup medal was with Jess, perhaps like 5 years in the past and I keep in mind it being actually particular simply to be within the begin line with considered one of my idols,” Leibfarth informed reporters after the medal ceremony, in keeping with USA Right now. “I feel it’s a extremely loopy feeling once you sort of begin reaching that degree… each of those ladies I’ve appeared as much as for therefore lengthy.”
Leibfarth started her paddling profession at age 12, and he or she’s since received solo kayak and canoe occasions throughout the globe. She entered the Paris video games as the primary U.S. lady to qualify for 3 totally different canoe/kayak occasions.
“Doing three occasions (is) actually intense as a result of not solely are you on the market bodily giving your all each single day, it’s additionally actually taxing mentally,” Leibfarth mentioned. “It’s laborious to reset after every run and go into every day feeling the identical confidence and the identical constructive, so it’s undoubtedly actually exhausting.”
Leibfarth did not qualify for the kayak slalom finals the earlier Sunday, ending fifteenth within the 22-racer semifinal with a time of 1:09.54. Her Paris Olympic expertise formally ended this previous weekend throughout the kayak cross after ending third in her quarterfinal, lacking the qualifying spot within the semifinal by one place.
Cowl Photograph: Cowl photograph of Evy Leibfarth: Brian Corridor / Purple Bull Content material Pool
