Kayaking: Kvanli wins national whitewater crown

From staff reports

San Marcos — With all of the rain that we have had this fall there has been whitewater in the streets.

Perhaps it explains how San Marcos resident, Michelle Kvanli, won the US National Championships for whitewater kayaking last weekend.

Though Canoing and Kayaking may be one of the most native sports to America, it has often been the Europeans who dominated the Olympic competition until last weekend.

The Europeans have usually had a huge home-course advantage with their unique man-made courses, but last weekend the US National Whitewater Center held its first major international race in the United States.

U.S. canoe team coach Cathy Hearn set the most difficult course that most have ever seen, and it worked to separate the top Americans from the rest of the field which included the Olympic gold medalists from the 2008 Olympic Games.

Kvanli struggled through her first run, which rewarded perfection but punished anything less.

“When I saw Elena Kalishka, the two-time Olympic Gold medalist, hitting gates in frustration it helped me to refocus on my final run,” Kvanli said. “I was so grateful to have the opportunity to compete in my first international final, and that motivated me to challenge myself on this course. The results could not have been better!”

Kvanli had the fastest American time in the finals, making her the 2009 US national champion.

“It took a lot of work, but it was a real miracle in the end,” Kvanli said. “It is amazing to be here now considering everything.”

Kvanli had shoulder surgery in 2007 that kept her from being able to move her arm and required six months of rehab. In the last year and a half she has been training non-stop to get back into the sport that she loves.

Just six months after she could paddle again, she placed third in the 2008 National Championships, won the US Open in March and then went on to place third at the US National Team Trials.

On the way to this year’s Pan American Championships, she was in a car wreck, where her and her fellow friend and competitor were in a truck roll-over that destroyed their boats, but thankfully both girls walked away fine.

Kvali patched her boat, and ended up 11th in the international competition, and was the second-highest finisher from the U.S. women.

It was a long year, but the final outcome was sweet.

“Winning Nationals has been a long time goal,” Kvanli said. “In a way, I keep pinching myself. It was a really challenging course, and I was just excited to be here competing with so many awesome competitors. I am just relieved that all my training has paid off, and I am ready to get down to work for next year.”

Kvanli helped coach another local Hill Country athlete, Court Wiggins, of Boerne. Mark Poindexter, of Austin, helped to coach Carolyn Peterson who took third in the Women’s C-1. This was Court’s first international competition, and he was eliminated in the Preliminaries, but Carolyn just returned from the World Championships and placed third.

They have all returned to start training for next year with the rest of the team in San Marcos.