Evy Leibfarth takes silver in kayak at ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships

Evy Leibfarth climbed out of her boat into a throng of family, coaches and teammates — all of whom took turns embracing the home-country star.

Leibfarth made history Thursday afternoon in Oklahoma City, becoming the first American woman to medal in kayak slalom at a world championship since 2003 — the year before Leibfarth, 22, was born.

“A little bit of disbelief,” Leibfarth said when asked how it felt. “Going into this event, I definitely knew that I had it in me to do it, but of course putting it on on race day is a whole different game. You have the conditions, the course out there is really hard and then competing against all the top ladies in the world. I’m really proud of myself and my team for making this happen.”

Australian legend Jessica Fox took gold in the women’s kayak final at the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships. Great Britain’s Kimberley Woods won bronze.

“They’re some of my biggest idols but also girls I call friends,” Leibfarth said of Fox and Woods, “so that’s really special, too.”

Jakub Krejci of the Czech Republic won gold in the men’s kayak final, which was also contested Thursday. Poland’s Michal Pasiut and Italy’s Giovanni De Gennaro took silver and bronze. There wasn’t an American finalist on the men’s side.

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Leibfarth competes in all three canoe slalom events — canoe (C1), kayak (K1) and kayak cross. The North Carolina native was the bronze medalist in canoe at the 2024 Paris Games, and she’d also taken bronze in kayak cross at the 2021 world championships.

Winning silver on Thursday was her best finish yet in kayak at a major event.

“I had a mistake at the top of my run and I wasn’t sure if it was gonna be enough, but maybe that helped drive me,” Leibfarth said. “I was able to take the rest of the run and give it my all and see what I could do.”

From Bryson City, North Carolina, Leibfarth will likely be back in Oklahoma City two summers from now representing Team USA in the 2028 Olympics.

Riversport OKC, which will host the Olympic canoe slalom events, has become a home course of sorts for Leibfarth.

“You know the water really well, the area is familiar, you know the people around you,” Leibfarth said. “And this is my first big event (in the U.S.), which is really exciting.

“The pressure is definitely hard, but when it comes to racing, all I’m thinking about is my boat on the water out there. I’m not thinking about anything else.”

Joe Mussatto is a sports columnist for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Joe? Email him at jmussatto@oklahoman.com. Support Joe’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.