Evy Leibfarth was 14 when she became the top ranking female paddler in the United States. She was 15 when she earned her first World Cup medal, making her the youngest competitor to ever claim the title. At 17 she was a part of the inaugural group of women to compete in canoeing during the Tokyo Olympics in 2021; she was also the youngest woman to compete in this event.
“For a long time, [canoeing] didn’t have any kind of gender equality,” Leibfarth tells Teen Vogue. “When I was younger, it was really hard when older athletes or just random people would be like ‘Why are you training that? It’s not even a sport.’”
Now 20 years old, Leibfarth is pushing the boundaries of the sport yet again, becoming an indomitable force in the competitive paddler world. Not only is she one of the most decorated in the whitewater world right now, she’s currently preparing for the 2024 Paris Olympics, where she’ll compete in the kayak cross discipline.
Kayak cross is similar to kayak slalom in that paddlers make their way through an aquatic obstacle course; the key difference is that kayak cross involves a combination of canoeing’s white water disciplines. This form of kayaking is extreme, with competitors starting the competition by sliding off a ramp high above the water. It’s a newer discipline that originated in 2015 and is set to make its Olympic debut this year.
“I’m really excited about going out there and seeing what I can do rather than putting a bunch of pressure on myself. At the end of the day, it’s just an amazing, really cool race,” the Red Bull athlete says of Paris.
While she stresses that a bad race doesn’t define anyone, she’s working hard to do the very best she can come July. In fact, her endless dedication to the sport includes three one-and-a-half hour works a day, six days a week — during her off season.
Leibfarth’s passion for paddling was ignited and honed by her parents from a young age. She grew up along a river in North Carolina, which quickly became her first training grounds when she was just a toddler.
“I was honestly two or three,” she says of her first time on the water. “My parents met kayaking, so when I was super young, they got me into the sport. As I got older, I grew my love for the sport. I found that there was such a great community of people in it, and I get to do so much amazing travel and really cool races.”
Coached by her father, Leibfarth eventually began competing in international canoeing and kayaking disciplines. A double threat on the whitewater, she’s since made a name for herself thanks to her signature move — the hummingbird stroke, which is ultra-quick and displays an incredible amount of technical control.
Despite her many accolades and countless hours on the water, Leibfarth says she’s not immune to the pressure of being a competitive athlete. She remembers not performing to her expectations at the 2020 Olympics (which were held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic).
“I had a really hard time dealing with the pressure around it,” she recalls. “It was one of those dreams that I’d had for so long that I think I let everything get to me a little bit right before the competition. Since then, I’ve really learned how to control the emotions around completing a lot more.”
She cites her sports psychologist as one of the main things that’s helped her cope with the high-stress of her career. Leibfarth also makes time to embrace her passions outside the water, like exploring new cities and taking painting or cooking classes. She also surfs, hikes, and mountain bikes on her days off to help her recenter. And, when she’s not training, she’s working towards her degree to become an EMT.
In addition to expanding whitewater sports to include more women, Leibarth wants to make the sport more inclusive to LGBTQ+ paddlers. Leibarth herself identifies as bisexual and was one of the record-setting 186 queer athletes at the 2021 Olympics.
Growing up in the south, Leibfarth remembers the first person she told about her sexuality no longer wanted to be friends. She says this experience put her back in the metaphorical closet, nervous that being open about her bisexuality would only add to the pressure of competing in a high-level sport.
As she got older, Leibfarth became more open about her identity, thanks to the influences of other LGBTQ+ athletes.
“There were a couple of queer paddlers who really inspired me and showed [me] that [your sexuality] has nothing to do with your athletic performance, but it’s really great to be in a space where you feel accepted,” she says. “Just seeing other really successful people who are queer and knowing that it doesn’t make any difference is so great to see and just really reassuring, especially as a young woman in sports.”
For her, it’s been incredibly special to be able to inspire others by being herself, something she hopes others will embrace as they find their own paths in life.
“There’s so much stress around sports, just being able to not worry about who I am feels so powerful,” she says. “I hope that my career will inspire others to be very authentically themselves.”
