In Bryson City homecoming, Olympian Evy Leibfarth is still living her 'far out dreams'

BRYSON CITY – Since she was 6, Evy Leibfarth’s goal has always been to win an Olympic medal.

Fourteen years later, following a third-place finish in the canoe slalom at the Paris Games, Leibfarth is living her wildest dreams.

On Wednesday, Leibfarth finally arrived back home in Bryson City, where she was greeted by a parade and streets lined with fans waving American flags and signs celebrating her achievement during a homecoming event in her honor.

One group of around 15 women traveled to Bryson City from Atlanta just to meet her. Another woman came from Kentucky to see the celebration and tell Leibfarth how proud she was.

Leibfarth, bronze medal draped around her neck, was more than happy to take pictures or sign autographs.

As she paraded downtown, waving to the crowd gathered along the streets in Bryson City, Leibfarth showed her appreciation for the community she grew up in.

Two weeks after claiming her bronze medal, and just one day after arriving back in North Carolina from Paris, Leibfarth still is coming to terms with what she’s done.

“I always knew that I could do it, but I didn’t think it was going to happen,” Leibfarth said. “It seemed like one of those crazy, far out dreams.”

Medaling in Olympics 'surreal' for Evy, Lee Leibfarth

Medaling was far from guaranteed for Leibfarth, even down to the last run.

To even reach the final, the first of her career, Leibfarth narrowly made the cut – she finished 12th in her semifinal run, earning the final spot among finals competitors.

As the first paddler to make her run in the finals, her only goal was to set a good time. She said it helped that there was no pressure from other times. She set a time of 109.95, including a 2-second penalty for touching Gate 14 during her run.

That time kept Leibfarth on the podium all the way until the last run. Sitting third, it came down to Gabriela Satkova, one of Leibfarth’s favorite paddlers to watch, who had finished first in the semifinals.

“I think I blacked out for that whole thing,” Leibfarth said. “I was sitting there with the girls who had already definitely gotten a medal and they were holding my hand and telling me it was going to be okay.”

Satkova, though, made a couple mistakes on her run. Leibfarth had a bronze medal.

Leibfarth lost it, she said, and got to celebrate immediately with her father and coach, Lee, in an emotional moment for both of them.

“It was surreal,” Lee said. “I still don’t have the words for it. We had to wait a long time after Evy went.”

Leibfarth inspiring the next generation of paddlers

Growing up paddling at the Nantahala Outdoor Center, Leibfarth practiced with former Olympians since she was young. She plans to return the favor to a new generation and hopes the sport will continue to grow.

The NOC will help grow paddling with a new scholarship in 2025. The Evy Leibfarth Scholarship will be given to an inspiring paddler to help cover the costs of getting into the sport, Kristin Kastelic, the Director of Marketing at the NOC, announced during the celebration in Bryson City.

The NOC has been represented by 23 Olympians since canoe slalom made its debut in the 1972 Olympics. In 1992, Joe Jacobi and Scott Strasbaugh won gold medals. Leibfarth is the first woman in the center’s history to win a medal and the first American woman to win a canoe slalom medal since 2004, the year Leibfarth was born.

Though the NOC hasn’t seen a large push of new paddlers yet, Kastelic said she expects more to sign up soon.

“Right now, it’s in that inspiration phase, but we definitely want it to get more people on the water and find something new to do,” Kastelic said.

JOURNEY TO BRONZE: Bryson City's Evy Leibfarth has experience to excel at 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris

Leibfarth will quickly jump back into training, although Lee said she’s earned some time off. She’ll soon head to Italy to compete in the Canoe Slalom World Cup from Sept. 12-15, and she already has her eyes set on the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.

“There’s something special about having that home crowd for your home country,” Leibfarth said. “I’m really excited to have that and show people in the U.S. kayaking.”

Evan Gerike is the high school sports reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times. Email him at egerike@citizentimes.com or follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @EvanGerike. Please support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: In Bryson City homecoming, Olympian Evy Leibfarth is still living her 'far out dreams'