Nevin Harrison
- Country
- United States
- National team
- United States Canoe Sprint
- Born
- 2002
Nevin Harrison is the woman who put American canoe sprint on the map. Born on 2 June 2002 in Seattle, the C1 specialist made history at Tokyo 2020 as the first Olympic champion in the women's C1 200 — the event's Olympic debut — and the first woman from the United States to win an Olympic canoe sprint title. Her rise was almost vertical. At 17 she won the 2019 world title in the C1 200 in Szeged, then converted favourite status into Olympic gold in Tokyo and reclaimed the world crown in Dartmouth in 2022. At Paris 2024 she came within a photo finish of defending her Olympic title, taking silver behind Canada's Katie Vincent in one of the closest races of the Games. What followed set her apart just as much. Harrison stepped away from the sport after Paris, spoke openly about burnout and life outside the boat, and returned to the start line at the 2026 World Cup opener in Szeged after more than a year out of international racing. The comeback season has been a patient rebuild: nine international starts in the C1 on the World Cup circuit as she works her way back toward the sharp end of a discipline that moved on in her absence. With the World Championships in Poznań (26–30 August) on the season calendar and Los Angeles 2028 qualification running through the world rankings, Harrison is chasing the most compelling target in her sport: a home Olympic Games — and the field she once ruled.