Why Evy Leibfarth is a name namely before 2028 Olympic Games in Oklahoma City

Eva Leibfarth is a proud Carolinian from the North.

His original state is the place where his parents, river guides and padding instructors on the Nantahala river in the western part of the state first took it to the water. It was there that she fell in love with being on the fast. Where she became really good in this area too.

However, that would not bother him to become an Oklahoman adopted.

“I will spend a lot of time here,” she said, laughing.

This is because the Olympic events of the Leibfarth specialty, Canoe Slalom, come to Oklahoma City in 2028.

The Los Angeles Municipal Council made all official 2028 Olympic Games in Oklahoma City At the end of last week, unanimously approving a request from the 28, the organizing committee of the 2028 Olympic Games. He approved the slalom competition in canoe Riversport Rapids along the Oklahoma river and the softball competition Devon Park.

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Evy Leibfarth participated in the female canoe during the Olympic team tests in 2024 for the Slalom at the canoe / kayak and the kayak at the Riversport Whitewater Center in Oklahoma City, on Saturday April 27, 2024.

Needless to say, with our raised softball culture, there will be no shortage of fans in Devon Park.

But even if OKC has become a white water home – we welcomed the American Olympic trials of 2024, don't know? – Our passion remained lukewarm. Google images of these Olympic trials, and you will see many privileged seats available.

And hey, it's not a blow on OKC. Canoe slalom is a huge draw in the United States.

In Europe? Absolutely.

In Australia? Of course.

Here? Not so much.

But I can assure you – you will want to know Evy Leibfarth.

Last year in Paris, she became the first American woman in more than two decades to win an Olympic Slalom canoe medal. Leibfarth (pronounced EV-EE Leeb-Farth) took bronze in the singles of women's canoeing, and she did it at the 20-year-old ripe age.

“Honestly, it was so surrealist,” she said last week when she was in town for the world of Spring ICF ranking series. “The race in Paris was the wildest experience. In a beautiful city. A really difficult but fun course. And then being there with many of my best friends with whom I grew up in the race was so special.

“I guess I still can't wrap my head around.”

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July 31, 2024; Vaires-sur-Marne, France; Elena Lilik from Team Germany, Jessica Fox from Team Australia and Evy Leibfarth from Team United States at the Paris 2024 summer Olympic Games at the Vaires-sur-Marne nautical stadium. Compulsory credit: Sarah Phipps-USA Sports today

While she speaks, her blue eyes spreads, you can say that Leibfarth is authentic. The idea that she is an Olympic medalist blows the mind a little because, hey, she came home and had to return to real life.

“I train a heap. I am at school, ”she said. “I feel like I have done my things.”

And yet, from time to time, she returns when she realized that she was going to the medal.

As it is tradition, the paddles with the best moments sit together throughout the final, and each time someone beat their time, they move to a seat or completely abandon third place. Because Leibfarth had the slowest qualification time, she ran first and took the top.

She was long -term the medal before the Olympic Games and barely qualified for the final, it therefore seemed likely that she had to leave her chair among the first three.

And she had to abandon the upper seat.

But it was only by the next race that she had to abandon the second seat. This meant that she was on the bronze chair with a single remaining round – she joined or finished the fourth, probably the worst place at the Olympic Games.

The last competitor struck a door during his race, which means that she would have evaluated a two -second penalty. This increased Leibfarth's chance of a medal, but it was only at the last time that she knew with certainty.

She was almost instantly assaulted.

“Just all my friends and my father,” she said about her father, Lee, who is also her coach. “And just run to my mom … Everything is so vague because it was so crazy for me.”

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But it was real, just like her tears when she stood on the podium during the medal ceremony with a bronze around her neck.

Leibfarth was a bit of a child prodigy in sport, who runs internationally for the first time when she was only 12 years old. At the age of 17, she qualified for the Tokyo Olympic Games, not only becoming the youngest American to qualify in the canoe slalom, but also the youngest female paddle to compete both in the slalom of Kayak Slalom and the Slalom of Canoe.

The fact is that she is always super young.

If (although “when” is probably more precise), she qualifies for the 2028 Olympic team, she will still not be old enough to rent a car.

“I don't think anyone who reaches the ceiling in sport,” she said. “I think everyone is always growing and improving, and I think it's really interesting because there are so many different facets that come together to create the perfect race.”

She believes that mentality, physics, strength and technique all play a role.

And she believes that she improves in all these areas.

What about experience?

This includes not only the litany of international events it has achieved, but also the knowledge it has of OKC's white watercourse. She ran for the first time in 2016 when she was only 14 years old.

But she intends to familiarize herself even better.

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“You want to be able to imagine it in your mind,” she said. “But you also want to know everything there. You want to know your food options, the grocery stores you love, the places to stay, all because you want this feeling like at home. You don't want to be stressed by the race and stressed about where you are.

“This is why before Paris, I ended up spending a lot of time there, months and months, so it seemed familiar to me.”

It was like a second house.

She suspects that WoLhoma City too.

You know what it means, OKC: we are lucky to make Leibfarth felt that she is an Oklahoman adopted.

Be on the lookout for her. She has long blond hair often under a Red Bull cap, and she could study (she works on public health and biomedical sciences from Arizona) or drawings (she often sits and draws before competing). She is quick to smile and laugh, and she will look to you directly in the eyes.

It is a North Carolina, but it looks a lot like many Oklahomans.

We should shoot for her.

She already hopes the best for us and our Olympic experience.

“It will be exciting for the inhabitants of Oklahoma to go out here and come to watch and perhaps say:” I want to try this “or” I want my children to try this, “she said.

“This is a unique opportunity.”

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Evy Leibfarth participated in the female canoe during the Olympic team tests in 2024 for the Slalom at the canoe / kayak and the kayak at the Riversport Whitewater Center in Oklahoma City, on Saturday April 27, 2024.

What to know about slalom in canoeing

Slalom at canoeing is the umbrella term for canoeing and kayak events that take place on a white water course instead of flat water (also known as canoe sprint). In the events of Canoë Slalom, the paddles sail through a series of doors. Most are downstream doors, but some are upstream.

The speed is important – the best time saves – but spending through the doors gently and effectively is essential. Touch a door with a boat or a body, and a two -second penalty is engaged. Lack a door entirely, and it is a penalty of 50 seconds.

At the Olympic Games, there are six canoe events:

Male and female kayak slalom
Canoe slalom for men and women
Male and female kayak cross

In the slaloms of kayak and canoeing, only one paddle at the same time is on the route, a bit like a skiing event in the descent. But in the kayak cross, four paddles at the same time are on the course and first try to go to the finish line, more like an athletics race.

US Canoe Slalom athletes to watch

How many athletes in the United States will make the Olympic Olympic canoe team in 2028 have not yet been determined. The qualification standards must be respected and the Olympic points must be won, but here is an overview of some of the American paddles who could participate in Oklahoma City:

Evy Leibfarth, 20, Bryson City, Caroline du Nord: Of course. The bronze medalist in canoeing in Paris could be a triple threat. She did the American Olympic team last year in the three female events, but failed to make the final in kayak or kayak.

Casey Eichfeld, 35, battery, Pennsylvania: Already an Olympian quadruple, Eichfeld is looking for his first Olympic medal. He contributed in the slalom in canoeing and the kayak in Paris and should be a competitor strongly again in 2028.

Zachary Lokken, 31, Durango, Colorado: Olympian in Tokyo, Lokken beat Eichfeld for the place, then last year, the opposite happened and Lokken stayed at the Maison de Paris. He will seek to return to the Slalom canoe games.

Kyler Long, 19 years old, Boise, Idaho: A arrival. Long won Kayak Cross bronze at the 2023 junior world championships. Kayak slalom and kayak cross are his specialties.

Ria Sribar, 22, Auburn, California: His specialties are also slalom and kayak. Sribar finished second in kayak slalom at the tests of the American Olympic team last year.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: 2028 OKC Olympic Games: Why Evy Leibfarth is the favorite of Slalom canoe fans

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