Just moments after finishing her final race of a packed programme of events, Audrey Harper is buzzing with excitement.
You could have easily forgiven Harper for struggling to find the words after completing an exhausting 5000m race staged under the Polish sunshine.
But the 17-year-old canoeist is beaming as she reflects fondly on her experiences representing the United States at an International Canoe Federation Canoe Sprint World Cup.
“It has been such a whirlwind of excitement and so much fun with so many amazing learning experiences,” said Harper.
Judging by her schedule of races in Szeged and Poznan, Harper was determined to test herself as much as possible.
Harper competed in women’s canoe single over 200m, 500m and 5000m and teamed up with Andreea Ghizila in the women’s canoe double over 200m and 500m.
“I have really enjoyed paddling with my C2 partner, and it’s been such a good experience,” said Harper.
“Being around all these amazing athletes is so inspiring.
“I am still so young and there is so much to learn.
“It’s great to be around such amazing people like my teammates.
“I want to get all the experience I can from racing.
“Since we don’t have many races back home, it’s all or nothing so it’s good to get all this experience and learn how to race in general, especially when you are going against the best of the best, so it’s just awesome.”
Harper has been like a sponge over the past two weeks, soaking up all the experiences of being part of an international competition both on and off the water.
It could have been overwhelming for some teenagers when coming up against the likes of Olympic and world champions, but Harper has embraced the challenge.
“It’s been inspiring,” said Harper.
“I have got to remind myself that I’m here for a reason and they are the best of the best so I have got to soak up and learn as much as I can from them and their experiences.
“Even if I am not racing at the moment, just watching them do their warm-ups or on the water when I am preparing to race them, just seeing the differences of what they are doing compared to other people, it’s great to learn from.”
From being faced with starting gates to racing in different types of weather conditions, Harper is adapting to life on the international circuit.
“I have been working on finding a good rhythm with my C2 partner and figuring things out as this is our first international competition together,” said Harper.
“We have a lot of potential so going home after this we will start to actually workout together and get some good training in.
“We are really excited about that.
“With the C1, I’m just learning about things like start gates are a really new thing for me, so learning how to time that and also learning about the conditions.
“As we saw, the conditions are usually not the best, so you need to be good enough to be better than the conditions and work through it.”
The Olympic Games is definitely a big goal
Next stop for Harper is Montemor-o-Velho, Portugal where she will compete in the ICF Junior and U23 Canoe Sprint World Championships from July 23 to 27.
“I have been training really hard for that,” said Harper.
“It’s going to be really exciting to go back and be with amazing athletes once again.
“I can’t wait to see how it all turns out.”
Born and raised in San Diego, Harper is also buzzing about the prospect of a home Olympic Games in three years’ time as she sets her sights on Los Angeles 2028.
“That’s definitely a big goal as it’s going to be in my home country and it’s just a couple of hours away from where I live,” added Harper.
“That would be really exciting, and I definitely have to put a lot of work in to make it there, but I am willing to do it.”
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