Canoe rower Nevin Harrison shot into the spotlight three years ago at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics when he won gold in the C-1 200-meter dash.
This is the first time that women's single canoeing has been included in the Olympics, meaning Harrison is the only woman to sit atop an Olympic podium in this event.
Now that Harrison has officially qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics, he will look to keep other names out of the record books with back-to-back wins.
Harrison, a 21-year-old SDSU student, put his studies on hold to train full-time for Paris at the Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center.
We caught up with the paddling genius during a recent training session to get to know her a little better.
5 things you should know:
- The Seattle native first encountered canoeing at the age of 12 at a summer camp on Washington's Green Lake.
- Harrison lives in Pacific Beach and works at a local bar several nights a week to help pay the bills.
- She bench pressed 225 pounds four times just before the Tokyo Olympics.
- Harrison can reach top speeds of 11 to 12 miles per hour during canoe sprints.
- She is a two-time world champion in sprint canoeing (2019 and 2022), making her the only American to accomplish this feat.
