Sports

Report: Kayaker Drowned Prepping for Great Falls Race

Shannon Christy, 23, drowned while kayaking in the Potomac River last week.

The young woman who drowned in the Potomac River near Great Falls on July 11 was an experienced kayaker who was preparing for the Great Falls Race, part of the annual Potomac River Festival, The Washington Post reported.

Shannon Christy, 23, of Greenville, SC, and another kayaker were kayaking the race course on the Thursday before the festival. "But something apparently happened when Christy went through the center lines of the Great Falls, and when [fellow kayaker Will] Seeber spotted her again, she was swimming out of her boat in full paddling gear," The Post reported.

Christy had been pulled into the most dangerous channel flowing through the center of the falls, and became "the third kayaker to drown in the area since 1998," The Post reported.

Read more about Christy and about kayaking over Great Falls—including why kayakers risk it—on The Post's website.

Kayakers have been paddling over the falls since the mid-1970s, according to American Whitewater, which recommends that only local experts attempt to kayak over the falls.

"The Center line [over Great Falls] ... is a spectacular channel with some clean lines, but when running it—you are out in the middle of a massive cataract surrounded by deadly sieves and slippery rocks, and if you don't live here—it all looks the same," American Whitewater stated on its website.

"Center lines is an intricate maze that requires A LOT of scouting, and choosing the wrong channel could kill you. ... Please be careful and always have a safety plan," the website said.

A memorial service for Shannon Christy was held Saturday morning at the base of Great Falls, as part of the Potomac River Festival.


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