Canoe paddler Nevin Harrison burst into the Olympic limelight 3 years ago at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics when she cruised to a gold medal finish in the C-1 200 meter sprint.
It was the first time women's single canoeing was ever included in the Olympics, which means Harrison remains the only woman to ever sit atop the Olympic podium in this event.
Now that Harrison is officially qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics, she plans to keep all other names out of the record books with a back-to-back title.
Harrison, a 21-year-old SDSU student, put her studies on hold to train full time for Paris at the Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center.
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We caught up with the paddling phenom during a recent training session to get to know her a bit better.
5 things to know:
- The Seattle native was first introduced to canoeing at age 12 during a summer camp at Washington's Green Lake
- Harrison lives in Pacific Beach and works a few nights a week at a local bar to help pay the bills
- She bench pressed 225 pounds 4-times shortly before the Tokyo Olympics
- Harrison can reach a top speed of between 11 and 12 mph during canoe sprints
- She is also a 2-time World Champion in sprint canoe (2019, 2022) making her the only American to have ever accomplished the feat
