Outdoor Feature Article, Mnt. Xpress Newspaper

Asheville, NC weekly publication Mnt Xpress, Outdoors section feature article "Extreme Goddesses"

Published in Vol. 16 / Iss. 35 on 03/24/2010

Outdoors: Extreme goddesses

by Susan Hollingsworth in Vol. 16 / Iss. 35 on 03/24/2010

Whether you're navigating Pisgah's technical single track or plunging over the Green River Narrows' notorious rapids, don't be surprised if there's a ponytail waving out the back of the helmet that passes you.

Leaving others in the dust: With just three years' experience, Alexis Decosimo has been blasting the competition, moving rapidly up in the ranks. Photo courtesy Alexis Decosimo

Asheville girls are no joke.

Mountain biker Alexis Decosimo and white-water kayaker Adriene Levknecht raise the bar for female adventure athletes — not only locally, but worldwide. Both girls compete at levels that leave even the boys in dust. And both say it was Western North Carolina's supportive outdoors community and world-class terrain that have helped them excel.

Last year, Adriene seemed to wind up on the podium after every kayak competition she entered.

From the Teva Mountain Games to the Freestyle Kayaking World Championships, this young star has been steadily pushing aside the competition. After first-place finishes on the Gauley and Russell Fork rivers, her year was looking pretty good.

But it wasn't till she returned home to her favorite Asheville-area river that she really nailed it, crushing an event that is the benchmark for women's kayaking. Last November, Adriene became the first female to finish the world's most extreme kayak competition — the Green River Narrows Race — in less than five minutes.

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