Ashley Nee (born June 15, 1989) is an American slalom kayaker who has competed at the international level since 2004.

Early life and education

Nee is from Darnestown,

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. She began paddling after a chance encounter at Valley Mill Camp at the age of 10 and participated in racing when she was 12 years old. Nee attended Northwest High School. She attended

University of Hawaii A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

before transferring to

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of Mary ...

to pursue a degree in kinesiology. Nee was an

emergency medical technician An emergency medical technician (EMT), also known as an ambulance technician, is a health professional that provides emergency medical services. EMTs are most commonly found working in ambulances. In English-speaking countries, paramedics are ...

Montgomery County, Maryland Montgomery County is the most populous county in the state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 1,062,061, increasing by 9.3% from 2010. The county seat and largest municipality is Rockville, although the census-design ...

Career

Nee trains at the

Dickerson Whitewater Course The Dickerson Whitewater Course, on the Potomac River near Dickerson, Maryland, was built for use by canoe and kayak paddlers training for the 1992 Olympic Games in Spain. It was the first pump-powered artificial whitewater course built in No ...

. In 2008, Nee qualified the berth for the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

but was unable to win the spot due to a shoulder injury. She won the overall

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

title in Extreme K1 in

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

. Nee won bronze at the

2015 Pan American Games Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music *Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak alb ...

. She finished in 14th place in the K1 event at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

World Cup individual podiums

Personal life

Nee is openly gay. She is married to Ashley McEwan. They met in 2008 while Nee was working at a summer camp. She moved to Hawaii with her wife in 2008 to get a break from paddling and racing. They moved back to Maryland in 2012.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nee, Ashley 1989 births Living people American female canoeists Canoeists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic canoeists of the United States Pan American Games medalists in canoeing Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States Canoeists at the 2015 Pan American Games American LGBT sportspeople Sportspeople from Montgomery County, Maryland People from Montgomery County, Maryland University of Maryland, College Park alumni LGBT people from Maryland Emergency medical technicians Lesbian sportswomen LGBT canoeists Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games 21st-century LGBT people 21st-century American women