Slalom & Kayak Cross
Team Member
Evy Leibfarth
| Hometown | Bryson City, NC |
| Events | WC1 , WK1 , WKX1 |
| Years On Team | 5 (since 2019) |
| Club | Nantahala Racing Club |
| Born | 01/26/2004 |
| Schools/Work | works as an EMT , going to college for epidemiology and molecular biology |
| Hobbies | drawing , hiking , snowboarding and cooking |
“To uncover your true potential, you must first find your own limits and then you have to have the courage to blow past them.” – Picabo Street
8 Things You Didn’t Know About Evy Leibfarth
- Evy made her World Cup debut at 15-years-old in 2019 in Bratislava, Slovakia.
- Evy’s first World Cup podium was a third place in the WC1 event in Tacen, Slovenia at age 15 in 2019
- Before Evy goes to the starting gate, you may find her drawing in the team tent.
- Evy first tried kayaking when she was four years old and has loved it ever since. She is coached by her father, Lee Leibfarth.
- When she isn't on the river, Evy enjoys drawing, hiking, snowboarding, and cooking.
- 2019 was a breakout season for Evy. She competed at the World Championships in La Seu d’Urgell, Spain, and finished 4th in WC1 and 21st in WK1, qualifying an Olympic quota for the U.S.
- Evy plans to major in Biology at Davidson College while continuing to train full-time.
- Her favorite race so far has been the Pan-American Games, where she won gold in the WK1 event and silver in Extreme Slalom.
Evy’s Partners/Sponsors
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Olympic Games
Paris 2024 Games:
Bronze WC1
15th WK1
10th WKX1
Tokyo 2020 Games (in 2021):
12th WK1
18th WC1 -
World Championships
2025 World Championships - Penrith, AUS
9th WK1
4th WC1
8th WKX1 (head to head)
2025 U23 World Championships - Foix, FRA
Silver U23 WK1
Gold U23 WC1
4th U23 WKX1 (head to head)
5th U23 WKX1 (individual)
2023 World Championships - Lee Valley, GRB:
7th WC1
10th WK1
2023 U23 World Championships:
Gold U23 WK1
Bronze U23 WC1
2022 - Augsburg, GER
9th WK1
2021 World Championships, Bratislava, SLO
3rd WCSLX
11th WK1
17th WC1
2021 Junior World Championships, Tacen, Slovenia
1st WK1
3rd WC1
2019 World Championships, La Seu, Spain
4th WC1
21th WK1 -
World Cups
2026 - Augsburg (3):
4th WK1
8th WC1
3rd WKX1 (individual)
2nd WKX1 (head to head)
2026 - Prague (2):
4th WKX1 (head to head)
2026 - Tacen (1):
9th WK1
7th WC1
9th WKX1 (individual)
7th WKX1 (head to head)
2025 - Augsburg (Final):
7th WK1
10th WC1
5th WKX1 (individual)
2025 - Tacen (4):
3rd WK1
7th WC1
3rd WKX1 (individual)
2025 - Prague (3):
1st WK1
9th WC1
3rd WKX1 (head to head)
6th WKX1 (individual)
2025 - Pau (2):
4th WK1
6th WC1
10th WKX1 (head to head)
7th WKX1 (individual)
2025 - La Seu d'Urgell (1):
4th WKX1 (individual)
2024 - La Seu d'Urgell (Final):
3rd WK1
2024 - Krakow (3):
9th WK1
7th WC1
2024 - Prague (2):
9th WC1
2024 - Augsburg (1):
7th WC1
3rd WKX1 (head to head)
2023:
10th WC1, Vaires-Sur-Marne, France
2021:
15th WC1, Prague, Czech Republic
11th WK1, Markkleeberg, Germany
2020:
3rd WK1, Tacen, Slovenia
3rd WC1, Tacen, Slovenia
10th WK1, Pau, France
2019:
3rd WC1, Tacen, Slovenia
9th WK1, Tacen, Slovenia
10th WK1, Bratislava, Slovakia
7th WC1, Bratislava, Slovakia
10th WC1, Prague, Czech Republic -
U.S. Team Trials
2021 Charlotte, NC
1st WK1
1st WC1
2019 Oklahoma City, OK
1st WK1
1st WC1
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Other
2023 U.S. National Championships:
1st WC1
1st WK1
1st WX1
2022 U.S. National Championships:
1st WC1
1st WK1
2021 U.S. National Championships:
1st WC1
1st WK1
2019 U.S. National Championships:
1st WC1
1st WK1
More On Evy
First Strokes
Evy got in her first kayak when she was four and hasn’t looked back since. Her father, a former National Team coach, began coaching Evy as she started racing. She joined the Nantahala Racing Club and paddled at the Nantahala River every day after school. A few years later, Evy decided to enroll in online school to allow her to start training formally. At age twelve, she travelled to Europe for the first time to race in the ECA Junior Cups and decided she wanted to race as part of the National Team one day.
U.S. National Team
In 2019, Evy was finally old enough to make the U.S. National Team. She had an incredible first season and brought home two World Cup medals, two Junior World Championships medals, and two Pan-American medals. Evy also earned an Olympic quota for her fourth-place finish at the World Championships in La Seu d’Urgell, Spain. Her second year on the team, Evy won two more World Cup medals.
U.S. Olympic Team
Since she was little, Evy has dreamed of representing the U.S. in the Olympic Games. After her results at the 2019 World Championships and the 2021 U.S. Olympic Team trials, she is thrilled to be racing in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in the WC1 and WK1 classes.
Off the Water
Evy enjoys almost anything outside and is always keen to try new sports like snowboarding and surfing. When travelling, she can be found exploring cities and finding new restaurants and cafes. At home, Evy loves spending her time painting and cooking delicious food.