Meet North Carolina's Evy Leibfarth, who made history to win USA's first Canoe Slalom medal at Paris Olympics 2024

By Soumik Bhattacharya

Modified Jul 31, 2024 18:53 GMT

Evy Leibfarth, a slalom canoeist from North Carolina, recently won a bronze medal for USA at the Paris Olympics 2024. This came during the fifth day of the quadrennial event, which was Wednesday (July 31).

After finishing 12th in the semis of the event, Leibfarth made a strong comeback In the event finals. She registered a time of 109.95 seconds after facing two penalties during her run. The 20-year-old finished just behind Jessica Fox (Australia) and Elena Lilik (Germany) who completed their run in 101.06 and 103.54 seconds respectively.

This third-position podium finish made Leibfarth the first US canoeist to win a medal in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Besides her canoe event, the 20-year-old also competed in the kayak cross event. She couldn't qualify for the finals there, finishing 15th during the semis.

Let's know more about the canoeist from North Carolina, Evy Leibfarth.

Evy Leibfarth: Family and hometown

Leibfarth at the Canoe World Cup in Krakow (IMAGE: GETTY)

Leibfarth was born in the town of Sylva in North Carolina on January 26, 2004. Her parents are Lee Leibfarth and Jean Folger. She currently lives in Bryson City, North Carolina.

Evy Leibfarth: Educational details

Leibfarth at the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships (IMAGE: GETTY)

Leibfarth completed her schooling at K12 Private Academy (currently known as Stride), a publicly held educational institution franchise based in Virginia. Following the completion of her schooling, Leibfarth was admitted to Davidson College in North Carolina where she is doing a Biology Major.

Evy Leibfarth: Other achievements of the canoeist

Leibfarth at the 2024 Olympics in Paris (IMAGE: GETTY)

Leibfarth started her canoe slalom career at the tender age of 15 and hasn't looked back ever since. Featuring a major international senior tournament back then, she won gold in kayaks (K1) and silver in kayak cross at the 2019 Pan American Games.

In the same year, she competed at the Junior World Championships in Krakow, winning gold and bronze in kayak cross and kayak respectively. The North Carolina native has two more Junior World Championships gold medals, which she won in 2021 (K1) and 2022 (kayak cross) respectively.

Leibfarth also competed at the 2023 U23 World Championships in Krakow, where she won a gold medal and a bronze medal in kayaks and canoes respectively. Leibfarth also has a World Championship bronze medal in kayak cross, which she won during the 2021 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships in Bratislava.