In the small world of U.S. sprint kayak racing, Bellingham native Jonas Ecker has some big resources.
Ecker, 21, who in April qualified for the Paris Summer Olympics, is a charter member of the Bellingham Canoe and Kayak Sprint Team, has a mom who crewed for Washington State University and races surfskis, and a dad with a lengthy career in coaching endurance athletes as well as competitive experience.
Also in his corner: Greg Barton, a four-time Olympic medalist. The biggest U.S. name in a sport historically dominated by Europeans, Barton won medals in three different Olympics more than three decades ago.
The legendary endurance paddler, co-founder and lead designer of Epic Kayaks, Barton was the first American to win an Olympic kayak medal when he won bronze in 1984, then two golds in 1988 and another bronze in 1992.
Ecker and Barton, 64, live just miles apart in Seattle, and share the same elite racing orbit that includes Green Lake, canoe/kayak clubs and the “paddlers’ house” — where Ecker lives with Olympic dual kayak partner Aaron Small and others who come and go as University of Washington students and racers. Ecker, a marine biology major, is on track to graduate this fall and Small in June.
[ Read more: Jonas Ecker’s 2024 Olympic diary: Week one ]
The Pacific Northwest is a hotspot of the sport, said Barton, pointing out numerous clubs besides Bellingham’s in Seattle, Gig Harbor and elsewhere. Barton and Ecker keep in frequent contact, touching base via text almost weekly and seeing each other in person an average of once a month, Barton said.
When Ecker was around 16, he first caught Barton’s eye during a double surfski race in the Columbia River Gorge. Barton kept tabs on Ecker, and Seattle’s Small, at local races. Ecker and Barton have even teamed up for some dual races.
“He’s been a big part of our progression,” Ecker said. “As Aaron and I became more successful, he has become more of a resource, just to have dinner and chat about things like, how you prepare for a race or how to not get overwhelmed when showing up to the Olympic qualifier.”
That came in handy when Ecker and Small finally qualified for the Games, set for July 26-Aug. 11, on their final opportunity at a race in Sarasota, Florida.
“It was sort of do or die,” Barton said. “They had to win in order to qualify and they pulled it off.”
Ecker leaves July 10 to compete
Ecker will leave July 10 to compete in the U23 World Championships in Bulgaria before Paris. As he gets down to business, making the Olympic team has sunk in. Well, almost.
“It’s crazy,” he said by phone from Seattle last week. “I’ve grown up dreaming about the Olympics … The fact I get to go and compete is just staggering. It’s overwhelming and inspiring at the same time.”
Barton can give Ecker what few can — perspective. Barton’s first Olympics was the boycotted 1980 Games in Moscow, but four years later, at age 24, he won bronze in Los Angeles with few expectations. For Paris, Ecker and Small are in the same boat.
“First Olympics, there’s a lot going on,” Barton said. “Everything’s exciting. They’re also on a relatively steep improvement curve. That’s good to see that they’re beginning to get faster.”
Most Olympic rookies have nothing to lose and everything to gain. By qualifying with Small for the Men’s K2 500-meter race, they both also made the Olympic Men’s K1 1,000-meter individual field. In Paris, heats begin Aug. 6 with the K2 final Aug. 9 and the individual final Aug. 10.
“He has the ability to do just as well as in the K2,” said Brian Ecker, Jonas’ dad and main coach.
In 2019, Ecker took age-group world championship bronze (for under-17) in the Men’s K1 500-meter individual race, his first international success.
With Barton’s endurance chops extending well past the age of AARP eligibility, he has provided a valuable measuring stick.
“If you can keep up with Greg or if you can beat Greg, then you know (Jonas) is really doing well,” Brian said. “Greg has always been super supportive and complimentary of Jonas. Some people will see results that are less than stellar and think, ‘Oh, he’s not on the right path’ and that’s just the path of development. Greg has always known that and understood that.”
Supportive family
Brian is the chief operating officer for Bellingham’s Family Care Network. Jonas’ mom, E’lana, is a speech language pathologist and pediatric swallowing specialist. Jonas’ sister, Joslyn, is scheduled to graduate from Sehome High this month.
Brian has squeezed travel and coaching around his full-time job. He has been taking Jonas to national meets since about 2012. Seeing their kid make the Olympic team has been emotional for both parents, both planning to be in Paris. Brian is expected to coach Jonas there.
If Ecker and Small have a good race, they should make the eight-boat final. An Olympic medal, though, would require “the race of their lives,” Barton said.
Barton said Ecker reminds him of himself, a late bloomer small for his age as a teenager who didn’t win much against stronger and older guys. “I learned how to lose a lot,” Barton said, adding that it built humility and an emphasis on efficient technique.
No U.S. paddler has won an Olympic medal in the sport of sprint kayak since Barton in 1994. In fact, paddling medals in general have been hard to come by. The only other U.S. canoe/kayak medal since Barton’s came in the 2020 Games (pandemic-delayed to 2021) — a gold won by Seattle’s Nevin Harrison in the women’s canoe sprint.
Barton sees a promising future for Ecker and Small. If not this Olympics, then the next.
“As long as they’re competing, I’ll be following them,” he said, “and it sounds like they’re saying that they’re in it for the long haul.”
Meri-Jo Borzilleri is a freelance journalist whose stories have appeared in Cascadia Daily News, The Seattle Times, New York Times and ESPN.com, among other outlets.
Meri-Jo Borzilleri is a freelance journalist and former 20-year sports reporter.
