NEWS

 

Just days after Davidson Wildcat Evy Leibfarth stood on the Bronze Medal podium for the Women’s Canoe Slalom, she dropped off a 20 foot platform at the start of her Kayak Cross time trial run.

Kayak Cross made its Olympic debut at the Paris 2024 Games. Like the canoe and kayak slalom events, the Kayak Cross took place at the Vaires-Sur-Marne Nautical Stadium located about 30 kilometers east of Paris. But, just what is Kayak Cross?

First off, this is a kayak event. This means that the athletes are seated in their boats and use a paddle with blades at both ends. And while the actual Kayak Cross competition includes four competitors going down the course at one time, the time trials are a solo run. The times of the solo runs will be used to determine seeding in the initial head-to-head-to-head-to-head preliminary heats.

The Kayak Cross course at Vaires-Sur-Marne ran over 210 meters, and the water flowed down the course at a rate of 13 cubic meters per second. The venue had stadium seating on the left side of the course, and Kayak Cross drew in crowds.

Thankfully, the NBC/Peacock commentators for Friday’s time trials gave an incredibly detailed overview of the sport, a recognition that many viewers were seeing the sport for the first time and needed a lot of information. The men’s time trials were held first, followed by the women’s.

The differences from the slalom events were immediately apparent. As noted above, Kayak Cross begins with a drop off a platform into the rushing waters of the course. Rather than “gates” which consist of poles suspended over the course, there are padded “buoys.”  There are also a fewer number of buoys vs gates: 8 vs 23. And finally, there is the requirement to do a barrel roll.

Just after the first green slalom buoy, there was a padded beam stretched across the course. Each competitor was required to execute a barrel roll, and they had to do so in a designated zone. It was also noted that the placement of the barrel roll zone at the top of the course was vastly different than some previous international competitions where it was placed toward the bottom of the course.

One element similar to the canoe and kayak slalom events is the fact that there are green and red buoys. Green buoys are passed going down the course, whereas red buoys must be circumnavigated going upstream.

After the kayak cross racers did their barrel roll, they hit their first red buoy. There were red #2 buoys on both sides of the course, and they had to navigate one of them going up stream. From there, the next six buoys were green. Buoy #3 was on the right side of the course, and then #4 was further down the course on the left side. Buoys #5 and #6 were much closer together, with #5 on the left side, and #6 on the right. The close proximity of the buoys required the paddlers to navigate across the course in a maneuver called the “ferry crossing.” The kayakers had to go between the two green #7 buoys. The final buoys were the #8 red buoys on either side of the course. The competitors had to circumnavigate one of them, again going upstream for the red buoys. After those final buoys, they got back to the center of the course and paddled for the finish line.

One commentator even called the buoys “sausages,” a reference to the fact that they are bigger and padded than the poles used in the slalom races. Another significant difference is that paddlers can touch, even hit, these buoys without penalty. The requirements are that they keep both hands on their paddle and get their head and shoulders around the buoy or on the correct slalom side in order not to be penalized. The penalties in Kayak Cross are far more devastating, as they automatically move the kayaker into last place at the finish.

Now for the women’s time trials. The thirty-seven competitors dropped into the course in reverse order of their current world rankings. Two of them did not have rankings and they went first. The first ranked competitor was #177, and until they reached #21 in the world, the rankings were not sequential. However, all but one of the top 21 competitors were in the Olympic time trials. Wildcat Evy Leibfarth was ranked #20.

At the end of the 37 time trials, Evy considerably out-performed her #20 world ranking. She finished in sixth place, having paddled the course in 72.66 seconds. The number one kayaker had done so in 70.33 seconds.

Thankfully, a “Phase Summary” posted on the Paris Olympics website Friday evening provided insight into how these time trials set up the Kayak Cross races.

The top eleven time trial kayakers were given the pick of the four starting positions in the round one events on Saturday, August 3. Evy would have that top spot in the sixth heat with the sixth fastest time trial. Given the number of participants, there were eleven races on Saturday. The first seven of those races had three competitors. The final four races had four competitors.

The Kayak Cross also included something called the “Repechage.” There were five Repechage races on the schedule. The top two racers would automatically advance to Sunday’s heats, regardless of whether it was a three or four-kayaker race. This meant that 22 kayakers automatically advanced, while 15 had to compete in the Repechage to earn a slot.

Saturday morning (U.S. time zones) it was time for first Kayak Cross races. As noted, the 37 women kayakers were divided into 11 races. The top time trial racer was French kayaker Camille Prigent, she had navigated the course in her solo time trial in 70.33 seconds. She donned a red jersey, and selected to start the race from the far left of the platform in position #1. The starting positions are numbered 1 to 4, with 1 on the left side as you look at the platform. The kayaker in starting position #1 dropped into the right side of the course.

There seemed to be an interesting level of “strategery” in the top time trial kayaker’s position selection for the start of the races. Some of those wearing the red shirts opted for starting on the left side of the platform in the #1 position, while others chose a middle position. None of them chose to start from the right in either the #3 or #4 position.

Another important change from the time trials and the slalom competitions is that timing doesn’t matter in the Kayak Cross. What matters is finishing first and doing so without a penalty. Penalties can be assessed for missing a gate, missing the barrel role zone, or even a starting penalty. The latter is a penalty assessed when a kayaker moves between the “ready” and “go” commands. The assessment of a penalty doesn’t add time, but it means the kayaker automatically finishes last. In the event that more than one kayaker incurs a penalty, the number of penalties determines the finishing positions.

In the five races before Evy’s, the top time trial kayaker only won two of the races. One of them even wound up finishing last and was knocked into the Repechage.

As mentioned, Evy’s sixth place finish in the time trial meant that she was the top seed in a 3-kayaker race. The Davidson Wildcat chose to start from position #1. Interestingly, the other two kayakers selected positions 2 and 4, leaving a gap between the two of them.

Evy didn’t waste any time and was the first kayaker past the first buoy and then reached the beam and executed her barrel role without any issues. She held the lead, and even with a competitor closing in when they reached buoys 5 and 6 for the “ferry crossing,” she kept her lead.

She opted for the #8 red buoy on the left side of the course. Her closest competitor opted to go to the buoy on the opposite side. Again, some strategy in play. Since the top two kayakers automatically advance, they rarely get into a bumping contest. The same cannot be said if there is a gap and the numbers 2 and 3 kayakers are close. The kayaker in third place often intentionally tries to knock the second-place kayaker out of position.

Evy finished first in her race, with the kayaker from Italy – Marta Bertoncelli – also earning an automatic slot in the next round.

Following Evy’s race, there was one more race with three kayakers. Then, the final four races had four kayakers. Those races had a lot more bumping and jostling for position. All of the subsequent top time qualifiers won their races.

As those 11 races finished on Saturday, the top 22 kayakers automatically advanced. The other 15 kayakers would have to compete in the Repechage. The men’s races followed immediately, and then the women’s Repechage.

Evy’s American colleague, Casey Eichfeld, finished third in his race and would have to compete in the men’s Repechage to advance. There was also some additional activity in the men’s races. One of the competitors inadvertently capsized after hitting one of the barriers. Unable to come back to the surface, a fast-water rescue swimmer immediately jumped in and grabbed the kayaker, bringing him to the surface. In that situation, the kayaker was listed as “Did Not Finish” and did not advance to the next round or proceed to the Repechage.

On Sunday, the Men’s Kayak Cross was first on the schedule. The women’s races followed at their conclusion. The women’s races consisted of eight heats. The top two finishers from each heat would advance to the Quarterfinals on Monday. While the racers only competed in one race on Sunday, three races are on Monday’s calendar.

Evy was the top seed in the fifth of eight heats on Sunday. In the four heats in front of her, three of the four top seeds advanced to Sunday’s quarterfinals with two of them winning their heats. Evy opted for starting position #2, and the second seeded racers chose position #1. The other two racers were in the starting positions matching their seeds.

As the starters gave the preparatory commands, the four racers seemingly froze into their positions to avoid any chance of a starting penalty which could end their Olympics. With a clean start, Evy was very briefly in third place. However, she paddled feverishly and by the time the racers reached the first buoy she was in second place behind third seeded kayaker, Alena Marx from Switzerland.

As they approached the first upstream red buoys, Evy headed for the opposite buoy from the #1 paddler as was anticipated. Just as she cleared the buoy, one of the other paddlers rammed her kayak. However, because she had already gone around the buoy, the collision only served to push her down the course. And with that, she was right behind Alena Marx. The two of them seemed to build a sufficient lead over their two competitors, but as they reached the “ferry crossing,” the third kayaker – who happens to be the reigning world champion in the sport – was right there.

Evy managed to avoid being rammed by the other boat, and she got across the course and was right behind Marx as they navigated around the sixth buoy and through the two #7 buoys. And then, Evy surprised everyone – especially the commentators. She did not go to the opposite upstream gate from Marx, but followed her to the red #8 buoy on the right side of the course.

She got to the buoy just as Marx was turning around to go upstream. She cut inside of Marx and both kayakers got around the buoy. Meanwhile, the third and fourth kayakers went to the left side and battled around their buoy. From there, Evy aggressively paddled to the finish line – winning the heat and beating her Swiss competitor. And then they waited, waited to confirm that officials hadn’t assessed any penalties.  With none, she was officially named the winner of the heat.

Evy kept her red jersey as she headed to the third quarterfinal race on Monday. The women’s quarterfinal races took place first, then the men’s.

The first race ended in an upset, with the top-seeded kayaker, France’s Camile Prigent, failing to finish in the top two and being eliminated from the competition. The second race finished with the top two seeds advancing.

Then it was time for Evy’s race. She opted to take the far left #1 position for the start. While she was aggressive, she did not get the much-needed breakout from the other kayakers. She was initially in fourth place but was in third by the time she reached the rollover. As they paddled down the course, she was trying to make up time at every opportunity. When it came to the final upstream #8 buoy, it looked like she had her chance. Second place kayaker, Alena Marx, was just starting to navigate around the buoy. Evy came in a full speed with the intent to try to slide inside and get around the buoy first. And she almost pulled it off. Almost.

Almost meant it was the end of the Cinderella story for this Davidson Wildcat. Marx still got around the buoy, and Evy finished third. And with that, her Olympics were over. But the 20-year-old still made all of us proud.

Kudos to Evy and congratulations on winning a bronze medal in the Canoe Slalom. Thank you for introducing us to the crazy, fun, and exciting sport of Kayak Cross.

Without much rest in between, the women’s semifinals were next, followed by the men’s. The day ended with “Small Finals” to determine the fourth through eighth positions, and then the “Finals” to put three athletes on the podium and just off the podium #4.

In the end, Australia’s Noemie Fox won the gold medal. If the name sounds familiar, it should. She is the younger sister of Jessica Fox, the woman who won the Kayak and Canoe Slalom races. The Fox family swept all three of the Olympic canoe and kayak events. The Silver Medal went to France’s Angele Hug, and Great Britain’s Kimberley Woods earned the Bronze.

Editor’s note: Several weeks ago when I started looking into Evy Leibfarth’s 2024 Olympics, I noted the addition of Kayak Cross to her list of events. Unfamiliar with the sport, I started searching for details. I found a couple descriptions of the sport and then I found a YouTube video. A couple days later, when I was trying to describe the event to a friend, I referred to it as roller derby in kayaks. It seemed an apt description given all the battling between the competitors. Fast forward to Friday, August 2, and after watching the time trials, I was seeking more information. That’s when I found a story from NPR, literally posted earlier in the day on August 2. The reporter had traveled to Alabama to see a Kayak Cross competition. After referring to the sport as mayhem, he said “it looks like a roller derby bout on rapids.” He stole my analogy, well almost. It’s a good segment, and even includes a brief pre-Olympics interview with Evy. So, take a listen to the NPR segment on Kayak Cross.

Additional Editor’s note: My spouse, Heather McKee, coined the following after watching Evy’s Kayak Cross races: “Pulling a Leibfarth.” It means when you take the bold, daring, and audacious route vs. the easy one.