At just 20 years old, North Carolina-native and member of the U.S. Kayak team, Evy Leibfarth is already something of an Olympic veteran. She’ll compete in her second games this summer in Paris.
Leibfarth said representing her country on the world stage is “an accumulation of all of the teamwork and the dream that got me here,” she said. “All of Team USA is full of these amazing, talented and super passionate athletes, and just being a part of that is so inspiring to me.”
At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, she placed 18th and 12th in her Kayak and Canoe Slalom events. Leibfarth says that experience was a “dream come true.”
But her journey to the Olympics began much earlier.
She began competing internationally at the age of 12, but her connection to the water goes back even farther. Her mother served as a paddling instructor, and her father was a former slalom racer.
“Knowing that I got there with the help of my family and friends was really special.”
Leibfarth’s support network extends beyond her family and teammates. She’s one of over 800 Red Bull athletes, a program designed to promote and sponsor athletes of all disciplines.
“I have a really great staff of people behind me like nutritionists, physiologists, kind of everything that I need to help me get to where I need to go,” Leibfarth said. “Then the team of athletes, it’s just really inspiring to be around.”
Ultimately, though, Leibfarth reminds athletes their most important teammate is themselves.
“Don’t compare yourself to any other athletes or people out there,” she continued. “It’s so important to find your own path and keep everything that keeps you uniquely you while still using that passion and drive to go into the games.”
This year, that passion will guide Leibfarth as she competes in the kayak and canoe slalom events at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Despite the success, experience and wisdom she’s achieved, Leibfarth still sees this as just the beginning of her story.
“I still have many more years ahead of me. I know that right now, it’s just the start, even though it is my second games, which is crazy,” Leibfarth said. “It’s knowing that I still have so much to learn, so much to go for and a lot more years ahead of me.”
Watch Leibfarth in her second games this summer at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
