Just north of the Oklahoma River in Oklahoma City sits Riversport’s canoe slalom facility. Two channels fork around a grassy hill, filled with whitecapped greenish water rushing down a slope.
This weekend, those channels were also full of canoeists and kayakers competing in the International Canoe Federation’s world ranking race. More than 150 competitors from 23 countries registered for the events.
Among them was Casey Eichfeld, an American canoeist and four-time Olympian. Before he headed down the course, he watched his fellow competitors descend the hill of whitewater.
Eichfeld pointed out the striped poles strung above the rapids…