Salida High School is proud to be the home of a young athlete looking to make it big this year. His name is Finn Blackburn, and he is making waves in the junior kayaking world. He is the junior national champion, a title he’s earned through hours of practice, hard work, and true passion.

Last year, Blackburn traveled to Slovakia for the Junior World Championships. This year, he’s headed to France for the same event, with one clear goal in mind: make it into the top 32 for the kayak cross heats. It’s a very competitive event, with about 150 competitors each year. Last year, Blackburn got 55th, extremely close to the cutoff, fueling his fire to win this year. 

This October, Blackburn has another goal in mind, the Zambezi River in Africa. Known as one of the most prestigious kayaking rivers. With threats of building a dam later this decade, Blackburn wants to travel the river before it’s too late. It would be a life changing experience, and Blackburn is hoping not to miss the opportunity.

Blackburn’s kayaking journey began long before these international competitions. It began with his sixth-grade teacher Josh Oberleas, who took the whole school kayaking. Something clicked in Blackburn’s head that day. From borrowing Mr. Oberleas’ kayak to diving deeper into his kayaking passion, Blackburn’s journey started early and grew fast.

Despite his success in the kayaking world, Blackburn’s journey has been tough at times, a big challenge being the lack of kayaking people in Salida. Still, Blackburn finds friends in Team Colorado Whitewater in Boulder, where he trains with other professional kayakers from Colorado.

In Blackburn’s eyes, the biggest challenge isn’t the competition or the solidarity, it’s staying engaged. “It’s easy to fall into muscle memory,” he says, “but you end up not on your game when you need to be.” It’s not just a physically demanding sport, but also has its mental challenges as well.

If anyone is curious about kayaking, Blackburn advises people to give it a try. “It may seem scary, but it’s not as bad as it looks.”

For Blackburn, kayaking isn’t just a sport. It’s a passion, and has turned into something more than he could have ever imagined.