Anna Levesque

Hometown: Asheville, NC

Sponsors: Dagger, Shred Ready, Lotus Designs, Smith, Nike, AT Paddles, and Mountain Surf

Favorite River: There are too many to choose from!

Biography: Levesque is a world-class kayaker, a member of the famed Team Dagger, and a Nike ACG athlete whose personal drive has taken her from the reception desk of a Canadian rafting company into the rarified water of international competition, monumental first descents, and the chance to give something back to the sport of women’s kayaking.

The 32-year-old Canadian was a bronze medallist at the 2001 Freestyle Kayaking World Championships, and has been a member of the 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003 Canadian National Freestyle teams. As a professional whitewater kayaker and international guide she’s worked and paddled in Canada, the U.S., Costa Rica, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, Australia, Austria and Africa.

An active youth spawned her desire to kayak. “I grew up downhill ski racing,” Levesque says. “I was always involved in sports.” She stayed active in college rowing on the crew team at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It was during a summer back home in Ontario that changed her life. “I wanted to work for this rafting company there,” she says. “I didn't really grow up camping, didn’t grow up in an outdoor environment, but this was something I wanted to do. I worked as receptionist before I got on the water. It was something I was drawn to. I got involved, sought it out, and fell in love with it.”

What motivated her in competition, she says, was “the personal challenge to better myself. Competing taught me about myself, about fear and intimidation, overcoming self-doubt and letting go of the need to prove myself.”

For a sport that provided so much insight into her inner psyche, it's also given her a deep insight into the female mind and heart. With what she’s learned, she has produced an instructional kayak video series for women, called “Girls At Play,” which offers not only practical how-to advice, but also peers into ways to overcome fear and intimidation, as well as reveal what a river can teach about personal growth, dedication and building confidence. She complements the videos with the Girls at Play Summer Tour, clinics that offer women the chance to learn and improve their skills in a fun and supportive environment.

To help find physical and mental acuity, Levesque relies on yoga and meditation. “Yoga helps focus, but it also helps with range of motion and flexibility. I do cross train, and cycle. To stay fit, road biking and yoga are the big ones. And I love hiking, which is very good for you. I’m bad at going up hill. I like sports where you go with gravity!”

Levesque admits to “basically not living in the same place for more than six months at a time.” Travel truly ignites her spirit. “I get to see places that few people get to see. I love travel, the people, and being out in nature.

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Website: www.whitewatergoddess.com