Local takes 6th at international kayaking championship

Under dark skies and bright lights Jonny Meyers, a Bigfork native, started off freestyle kayaking's biggest show – the men's World Freestyle Championships finals – in Thun, Switzerland, earlier this month, and took home sixth place among more than 100 paddlers from 32 countries.

"It was cool because I got to start the show off," Meyers said. "I'd never been in a competition under the lights. There were so many people there."

Meyers had to make it through two rounds to earn his spot in the finals. Initially each paddler was given four 45-second runs, which were rated by five judges. The two best scores for each kayaker were then added together. The 30 participants with the best scores moved on to the next round. In the second round, they were give three runs and the two best scores were combined.

"It was my goal to make the top 10 and I knew that was going to be hard, but I just gave it hell," Meyers said.

Only the top 10 competed in the finals, and Meyers squeezed into that final spot, which made him first in the rotation for the finals.

"I was consistent through the whole competition and I think that's why I did so well," Meyers said. "There were tons of great kayakers so there was no room for errors."

Even with the tough competition, new surroundings and acrowd of about 5,000 people, Meyers said nerves weren't a problem for him.

"I have a lot of experience in competitions so I think that really benefited me," he said. "I think I was more mentally ready than I was physically ready. I didn't have a lot of time to prepare. I went into it with a clear head though and that helped me out a lot."

Even though Thun is a long way from his current home of Gunnison, Colo., where he is studying Spanish at Western State College of Colorado, Meyers said that the paddling wasn't much different than what he was used to. He said that the climate was comparable to the summer days of Colorado and Montana, and the elevation was similar as well.

Meyers, who is 23 years old and has been paddling for about half of his life, said he was surprised by the feature that was used for the competition.

"The actual feature it was held on was kind of disappointing," Meyers said. "I thought Worlds would have a big epic feature. It was kind of small and dynamic, and a little tricky to read."

Meyers' sixth place finish meant half of the U.S. team placed in the top 10. Teammates Eric Jackson and Stephen Wright took second and third, respectively. Nick Troutman from Canada was the overall champion.

Although Meyers saw many kayakers at the event that he had idolized when he was growing up, he said the highlight for him was meeting kayakers from all over the world.

"Being able to kayak with such a diverse group of paddlers was amazing," Meyers said.

Although he was in unfamiliar territory, he wasn't without familiar faces for his two weeks in Switzerland. Meyer's older sister Coral and younger brother David, who both live in Bigfork, made the trip over to watch him compete. David, who is also a proficient kayaker, watched his older brother from the edge of the river and shared pointers with him in between runs.

"I was super psyched to have them there," Meyers said. "I think I fed off their positive vibes. And we definitely had a lot of fun together."

Although Meyers is back to hitting the books for his final year of college, he said he will likely try out for next year's U.S. team.