The opening day of World Cup 2 in Marrkleeberg, Germany, was a memorable one for Team USA. Three athletes progressed in both kayak and canoe events (with Evy Leibfarth progressing in WK-1 and WC-1).

Tokyo bound Evy Leibfarth and Michal Smolen progressed in their first runs of the women’s and men’s K-1. Leibfarth finished 9th out of the top 20 to qualify for the semifinal in the first run (another 10 qualify after run 2. This system is the same for the men’s event). Smolen finished 16th out of the top 20 to qualify. Joshua Joseph will advance to the semifinal tomorrow as well after finishing third in his second run.

The afternoon session featured the canoe events. Evy Leibfarth finished 8th in her first run, once again qualifying for the semifinal without a second run. On the men’s side, Casey Eichfeld and Zach (Bug) Lokken did much the same, earning 17th and 18th place, respectively, after their first runs to automatically earn semifinal qualification. 

At World Cup 1 in Prague, Czech Republic, last weekend, Michal Smolen and Bug Lokken were chosen to represent Team USA at the Tokyo Olympics in their respective events. With that, three U.S. slalom athletes will head to the Games this summer, including Evy Leibfarth, who will compete in both WK-1 and WC-1. 

Stay tuned for the semifinals and finals of the kayak events tomorrow. Women’s semifinals will start the day at 9 am CET. Finals will begin at 12:03 CET. Extreme slalom time trials will follow.