American Nevin Harrison seeks to repeat Olympic gold in women’s 200-meter sprint canoeing

Nevin Harrison’s dreams came true in Tokyo when she won the first Olympic women’s 200 sprint canoeing race at 19 years old.

Much of what followed the American’s gold medal moment felt more like a nightmare.

The Seattle native battled chronic lower back pain that made it difficult for her to get out of bed last summer. She suffered a hamstring injury and had problems with her previous coach. As her results fell short of expectations, she said some questioned whether she was a one-hit wonder.

“Once you have a big achievement like this, it becomes everyone’s business, not just yours,” she said.

She said a sports psychologist helped her and now she is back and ready for the Paris Olympics with a new coach, Joseph Harper. She said she wants to do this right.

“There was no other person who would take me to where I wanted to be,” said Harrison, now 22. “And if I stayed in that negative frame of mind and really was a complete mess, I wouldn’t go. Reach my goals. And then I would waste all this time chasing something that I was blowing for myself.”

Getting it right, she believes, includes trying again for gold. She wants to do it all over again, with the benefit of the wisdom she has gained over the past three years.

“I think a good motivator is knowing what it feels like to win a gold medal,” she said. “It’s not like, ‘It would be amazing to do that.’ It’s like I know exactly how I felt and that’s exactly how I want to feel again. So it’s like knowing the feeling I’m looking for, which is helpful.”

Harrison said preparing for this Olympics is very different. She said there is more pressure this time, but she has learned to accept the attention.

Harper said Harrison was a victim of his success. She toppled Canadian Laurence Vincent Lapointe, a multiple world champion, to win in 2021. Harper said Harrison’s strong comeback performance fueled the competition.

“She raised the bar so high with her performance in Tokyo that it’s her fault it’s not as easy as it was,” Harper said. “I’m not saying it was easy, but it’s her fault that every other girl in the world is now trying to reach the level that she raised too. And many of them have reached these new heights.”

Harper said Harrison remains among the best in the world because of his power and explosiveness, along with a rare work ethic.

It hasn’t been all bad for Harrison since winning gold — she won the world championship in the 200-meter sprint in 2022, qualified for the U.S. Olympic quota spot by finishing fourth at the 2023 world championships, and won the US Olympic Trials in March.

Harper said Harrison knows how to “change the face of the game” and believes she is a threat to victory in Paris.

“She’s very, very determined in that sense,” he said. “Like, second place is not an option for her. I think a common theme with all the greats in all sports is that people say athletes hate losing. Nobody likes to lose. But the great ones hate losing with a passion.”

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AP Olympics