Kaelin Friedenson - ACA
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Competition

Team

Kaelin Friedenson

Hometown Bethesda, Maryland
Events K1 Men Slalom , K1 Men Kayak Cross , K1 Men Freestyle
Years On Team 7 (since 2018)
Club Potomac Whitewater Racing Club (PWRC)
Born 06/06/2003

Things You Didn't Know about Kaelin Friedenson

  1. All of Kaelin’s kayaks have been green, his favorite color.
  2. Kaelin holds the unofficial ICF record for energy exerted into a kayak cross roll.  He puts so much energy into his roll that he once propelled his boat (but not his body) over the roll bar in a World Cup practice run. His resulting takedown of the roll bar led to changes in the height of the bar for future races.
  3. Kaelin is the first male athlete to be selected to compete for Team USA World Championships in Slalom, Kayak Cross, and Freestyle teams in the same season. 
  4. 6 Is Kaelin’s lucky number.  He was 6th at the 2024 U23 Slalom World Championships in slalom Slovakia, 6th at the 2021 Kayak Cross World Cup in La Seu, Spain, and 6th the 2022 U23 Kayak Cross Championships in Ivrea.
  1. Kaelin has had a short, but stellar career in creek racing.  He won the 2023 Green Race and the 2023 Great Falls Race.  He also placed 2nd in the 2023 Russel Fork Race, 3rd in the 2022 North Fork Championship, 4th in the 2025 Little White Race, and was the top American at the 2022 Oetz Trophy in Austria. He was the youngest podium finisher ever in the North Fork Championship and tied with Pat Keller as the youngest Green Race winner.
  2. When he isn’t racing, you can find Kaelin running big waterfalls. As of 2025, Kaelin held 5 World “first freestyle trick” Records on waterfalls of 30-60 feet.
  3. Prior to becoming a full time kayaker, Kaelin also competed in ice hockey, soccer, basketball, and track.  
  4. Through kayaking, Kaelin has made friends from all over the world and has paddled rivers in Spain, France, Italy, Germany, Slovakia, Slovenia, Czechia, England, Norway, Austria, Uganda, Costa Rica, Chile, Mexico, Madagascar, Zambia, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States.  He hopes to one day take his children on a worldwide kayaking trip, “because it would be really special and, I’ll know where go!”

Sponsors

  • 2021 Junior World Championships

    1st Place Kayak Cross

  • 2025 Pan American Champion

    1st Place in U23 K1 Men

  • 2025 US Team Trials

    1st Place K1 Men
    1st Place Kayak Cross

  • 2024 Pan American Paris Olympic Qualifier

    2nd Place K1 Men

  • 2025 World Ranking Race

    3rd Place K1 Men
See ICF Results

More on Kaelin Friedenson

Kaelin was just a toddler when he was first introduced to kayaking by paddling down small rivers in his dad’s lap. He got his own boat for his 4th birthday and fell in love with the sport. As Kaelin got older, he found himself playing and paddling on the world-class whitewater on the Potomac River, just a few steps west of Washington, DC.

Eventually, Kaelin began traveling to compete in races like the U.S. Nationals and U.S. Team Trials. When he was fourteen, he traveled to Europe for the first time to race the ECA Junior Cup Circuit where he placed 3rd overall in his final season. Today Kaelin trains, paddles, and explores the world with many of the kayakers he met on first trip.

In 2017 Kaelin finished 3rd in K1 at the Freestyle Junior National Championships, and a year later finished 3rd in C1 at the Slalom Junior National Team selections.  The spot on the C1 Team led to an invitation to the Kayak Cross and C2 teams, both disciplines in which he made the finals at the 2018 Junior World Championships in Ivrea.

Thanks to Calleva, NRS, and the ACA for providing financial support towards Kaelin’s gear, travel, training, and racing.