Evy Leibfarth of Team USA competes in the Women’s Canoe Slalom Semi-Final on Day Six of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Kasai Canoe Slalom Center on July 29, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan.
Evy Leibfarth admitted she was thrilled to get in her dinghy and race this weekend at a World Cup in Ljubljana-Tacen, Slovenia.
Once on the water, the 18-year-old from Bryson City, North Carolina kept her composure and avoided any costly mistakes.
Leibfarth won silver in the women’s canoe slalom on Sunday, posting a time of 1 minute, 38.27 seconds in the final to cap off a busy weekend for the teenager.
She had a faultless run in the final and was not penalized by any seconds. As a result, she finished just 1.75 seconds behind England’s Mallory Franklin, who took the gold in 1:36.52. Elena Lilik of Germany won the bronze medal in 1:41.51.
A day earlier, Leibfarth narrowly missed out on a medal in the women’s kayak slalom competition. She qualified for the final and finished fourth in 1:37.90, 3.66 seconds behind gold medalist Jessica Fox of Australia.
Leibfarth’s time in kayak slalom was less than a second behind Franklin (1:37.02) for silver and Ukraine’s Viktoriia Us (1:37.58) for bronze.
At 17, Leibfarth made her Olympic debut last summer in Tokyo. She finished 12th in the women’s kayak slalom and only missed the final of the event by two places. She also placed 18th in the women’s canoe slalom.
