Davidson College issued the following announcement on July 22.
“It was a bittersweet moment. Lots of other kids were hanging on their parents’ legs, begging them not to leave,” Jean Folger says, “And here was my little one ready to take on the world.”
Watch out, world: She’s more ready than ever.
Leibfarth landed in Tokyo earlier this month pumped up to paddle her way through the summer Olympics. At 17, she’ll be the first woman to represent the United States in canoe slalom, and be the youngest athlete in a competition that’s also making its Olympic debut.
Qualifying for the Olympics was one of the best things to happen to her in a banner year. She also became the first American to win the Junior World Cup championship in women’s slalom kayak. And learned that she’d join Davidson College’s class of 2025.
“It was two weeks of being completely over the moon,” she says of this past spring, when she was accepted to Davidson and qualified for the Olympics. “I’d been looking forward to making the Olympic team for years, and hoping so much to get into Davidson, which is my dream school.
“I am counting down the days until I get to campus.”
In the meantime, she’s got plenty of action to fill those days. The Olympic paddling competitions start July 25th and she’s slated to run in both canoe and kayak races.
The COVID-19 pandemic that postponed the 2020 games until this summer still looms large. She and other Olympians live in bubbles, maintaining social distancing, masking and mandatory testing rules. Anxiety abounds: Several high-profile athletes, including United States tennis star Coco Gauff, had to drop out after testing positive for the virus.
No spectators are allowed at the games. But as one of her coaches, Evy’s dad, Lee Leibfarth, will be with her. Folger will watch Evy’s competitions with other Olympians’ families at an NBC viewing event in the United States.
Despite the unease surrounding the games, Leibfarth is coming in on a career high note. She spent the first part of her summer training and competing in Europe before winning the Junior World championship gold medal in slalom kayak, and a bronze in slalom canoe.
“It was really great to be in Europe to paddle different courses and see a lot of my friends and train with the U.S. team,” she says. Winning the medals puts her “mentally into a good mindset for Tokyo.”
A Life on the River
Leibfarth grew up in Bryson City, along the Nantahala River in western North Carolina. Her mom and dad met as river guide instructors, got married, and when Evy was born, passed their love of the outdoors to her. They never pushed their sport on her, but from an early age, she wanted in.
As a toddler, she’d ride with her father as he kayaked along the river, yelling “Faster, Daddy!” She got her own kayak—pink with a sparkly paddle—for her fourth birthday. She started competing at eight, and along the way, had to convince her sometimes-nervous parents that she could handle the rapids. She rose to their many challenges in still waters before they agreed that their very determined daughter had the skill to navigate rougher courses.
Her dad, an elite paddler who’d coached the U.S. National junior team, became her coach. She travelled the world, winning multiple medals in international competitions. At 14, she became the top-ranked female paddler in the country.
She started attending school through the online K-12 International Academy when she became a serious competitor. She had to meet some tough academic standards: Her mom had previously taught high school English; and her dad, math.
“They both instilled in me this love for learning,” she says. “That’s one of the reasons why I’m so excited to go to Davidson, I feel like people there really take education seriously.”
Her family spent part of the past few years living near the U.S. Whitewater Center in Charlotte, where she trains; and summers competing in Europe and South America. In 2019, she raced in her first senior world championship, and her fourth-place finish earned the United States a women’s canoe berth in the Olympics.
“It was really exciting but terrifying. I remember sitting there, so nervous but smiling so big because I was also excited,” she says of that race. “I’m pretty equally nervous before all races. I always push myself to do my best, whether it’s a small race or a big race.”
Original source can be found here.
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