Get To Know Casey

My parents had a boat waiting for me before I was born. I guess it isn't that surprising. My parents had already been very active in the sport with racing in family races and volunteering at elite competitions that came to the United States. My earliest memories are of my Dad and I paddling on the James River. Well, my Dad paddled and I probably smacked him with my paddle. 

My childhood was filled with family races and river running nearly every weekend. My love for the river swelled like a flood. My  excitement for slalom grew with every starting countdown. I became addicted to the nerves that the start line brought. On and on it went until I made the Cadet National Team at 8. The Junior Team followed at 14 years old, and then the Senior Team at 17. 

Dreams came true in 2008. Racing in double canoe (C-2) with my "brother from another mother," Ricky Powell and I raced in the Beijing Olympic Games. 2012 brought my solo debut in single canoe (C-1). In 2016 I raced in C-1 and C-2 with Devin McEwan. Devin and I have known each other since I was little, and he was once known to carry munchkin me on his shoulders at those family races. I had the honor of making a piece of history by becoming the first U.S. Canoe Slalom athlete to compete in two disciplines in the same Olympics. Again I found myself making history as the first United States slalom athlete to compete in four Olympics after I qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics. I also become our first men's kayak cross athlete to compete at the Olympics. 

Home, for a large portion of my childhood, was in North Eastern Pennsylvania. I grew up with my parents and younger brother and sister. Twenty six weekends of our years were spent on the sides of rivers with many others who gathered for the the Penn Cup and New England Slalom Series canoe slalom races. We spent a lot of time packed into our station wagon. My parents likely always on edge knowing we kids would end up fighting somewhere along the way. Alas, we survived each other's company. It was when I turned 17 that I started spending a lot of time in Charlotte, NC. A new whitewater center had arisen, and  slalom athletes began flocking to it. I made the move full-time at the end 2008, and I have remained since. 

Home is my wife Sarah, daughter Emilia, and son Ryder. Being an athlete takes me on the road a lot, and I try to bring my family with me as much as I can. I love that our children get to grow up exploring the world from such a young age. Our two cats, P Sherman and Wallaby Way, certainly prefer us to be home, but they've come to enjoy our friends who look after while we are away. 

I have dreams of another Olympics and doing my part to keep Canoe Slalom alive in the United States. I love pizza, and pasta, and Mexican, and Indian, and...well, let's say I love food! Half of my training is chasing my kids around,  I wear my heart on my sleeve, and I am endlessly affectionate. I have traveled enough to circle the planet 20 times. I love my family (blood and chosen) near and far. I have  faltered in knowing my path, but my family help me find my way back. I say all of that to say, this is my life and I call it mine.