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Country flags line the spectator bleachers at Deep Creek 2014.

Ryan jumps around on the concrete lining the Adventure Sports Center International course in an U.S. Soccer jersey and matching bandanna and American flag face paint. He watched all of this summer's World Cup and plays soccer, but this is his first time watching slalom canoe or kayak.

When asked which he enjoys more, international soccer or international kayaking, the 7-year-old finally stops moving and takes a few seconds to answer. "Kayaking," he decides, and goes back to playing on the grass and the tiered seating area.

His mom, Cathy Witt, is impressed that a day at the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships near Deep Creek Lake had such a quick impact on him. Witt saw a posting on Facebook about a world championship just 45 miles from their home in Cumberland, Md., and figured it was worth checking out.

"I figured it's a once in a lifetime thing, being here and watching it," she said. "It has an Olympic-feel, and the kids are really into the Olympics so for them to be here and in this type of atmosphere."

Both Ryan and his older sister Jen, 10, got their faces painted with American flags and cheered enthusiastically for Fabien Lefevre as he sped down the man-made whitewater course for a gold medal run in C1 (single canoe). They watched the Saturday races surrounded by team members and fans from countries around the world.

"It's good to expose them to stuff other than the U.S. team," she said. "Especially for the kids, to expose them to all these countries, and to see as an athlete, if you try hard at their age you can get to this level."

She's optimistic that hosting the games will draw more visitors to vacation and travel in Western Maryland after seeing the scenery.

Penn State grads Deanna and John Pettit came to Saturday's events from Baltimore, and planned to watch the Nittany Lions game from their cabin rented on Deep Creek Lake.

They vacation in the area often and thought that coming up in September for the world championships would be a good opportunity to see things live that they would usually watch on television. After Lefevre's second-place run was judged to be a gold, they watched the crowd go wild and a woman a few feet to the left burst into tears.

"It was wonderful to be able to see those stories, those reactions in person," Deanna said.

At the gas station on Sang Run Road, the attendants behind the counter have found that the influx of international competitors has served well for business, despite some initial language issues. At the grocery store down the mountain from the whitewater course Paula Spear had some trouble when a foreign paddler came to the deli counter and tried ordering using the metric system.

He didn't speak much English, so Spear kept picking up different amounts of turkey and explaining the weight in pounds.

"If they can't fully understand, you just have to find a way to explain it," she said.

Her coworker, Kelly Tichinel, said the best part of the weekend was getting to experience all of the different cultures. Some of the town might have found it to be a pain--"there are always going to arrogant people and people that accept it," Spear said--but it's undoubtedly helped local businesses. And besides some trouble with the gas pumps,