Urban 3rd in kayak event

Sedgwick native Dustin Urban, who began kayaking at the age of 12, recently finished third in the World Cup of Freestyle Kayaking.

Urban, who attended George Stevens Academy in Blue Hill before graduating from Princeton University in 2007, took part in the three World Cup events between Aug. 15 and Aug. 31.

Urban was fifth in the first event in Prague, Czech Republic, then won the event in Augsburg, Germany. He capped his World Cup effort with a fifth in Thun, Switzerland. He was one of only three competitors to finish in the top five in all three Cup events.

World Cup competition runs were 45 seconds long, during which competitors were scored by a panel of judges based on the variety and difficulty of moves performed.

Urban has been a member of the U.S. Freestyle Kayak Team for eight years.

He began kayaking in Maine at the age of 12 and spent time paddling at Blue Hill Falls as well as on the Kennebec and Penobscot rivers.

He now lives in Buena Vista, Colo., adjacent to a whitewater park on the Arkansas River.