2024 A Look Back: Hometown pride award
Evy Leibfarth won bronze at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. File photo
Evy Leibfarth was welcomed home in style this summer after her medal-winning performance at the Olympics.
In her second Olympic appearance at Paris 2024, the Swain County native took home a bronze medal in the women’s canoe slalom event.
She finished with a time of 109.95 seconds behind Australia’s Jessica Fox who won gold with a time of 101.06 and Germany’s Elena Lilik who took silver with a time of 103.54.
In addition to the bronze medal she earned in Paris, Leibfarth was the first U.S. Olympian to compete in all three events — canoe slalom, kayak slalom and kayak cross. She was also the first U.S. female athlete to win a slalom medal in 20 years. Those achievements come on the heels of years of hard work and dedication.
Leibfarth was raised on the waters of the Nantahala River, where her parents worked as raft guides, and she has long been inspired by the Olympians before her who also came through the Nantahala Outdoor Center.
Leibfarth is the 23rd NOC Olympian and the first female to join the ranks.
