As the 2024 Paris Summer Olympic Games kick off, WhatcomTalk is highlighting the competing Team USA athletes who hail from our state and region.
Between Olympic and Paralympic events, 20 athletes from Washington State will be vying for medals in their respective sports. Two of those athletes — kayaker Jonas Ecker (Bellingham) and Paralympic track cycler Elouan Gardon (Acme) — are from Whatcom County.
According to Cascadia Daily News, Ecker joins a historical handful of other Bellingham-raised Olympians, including: Jake Riley (marathon, 2020 Tokyo Summer Games), Angeli VanLaanen (freestyle skiing halfpipe, 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics), Fred Luke (men’s javelin, 1972 Munich Summer Games), Roy Rubin (men’s coxed four rowing, 1960 Rome Summer Games), and Paul Jessup (men’s discus, 1932 Los Angeles Summer Games).
Here’s a look at which regional athletes to root for during this year’s Summer Games:
CJ Allen
Sport: Track and Field
Hometown: Pullman, WA
Jordan Chiles
Olympian 2020
Sport: Gymnastics
Hometown: Vancouver, WA
Hannah Dederick
Paralympian 2020
Sport: Para Track and Field
Hometown: Mead, WA
Jonas Ecker
Sport: Canoe/Kayak
Hometown: Bellingham, WA
A graduate of Lowell Elementary School who began paddling the summer before he entered the 5th grade, 21-year-old Jonas Ecker is seeking to become the first U.S. Olympic medalist in sprint kayak since 1994. Along with Olympic duel kayak partner Aaron Small, Ecker qualified for the Paris Games in April via a must-win race in Sarasota, Florida.
In addition to being a 2021 Sehome High School graduate and five-time Ski to Sea competitor, Ecker is a University of Washington marine biology major with multiple national titles in men’s single kayak competitions. He’s also been a member of the U.S. National Team for kayaking since he was a teenager.
Olympic heat races for kayaking begin August 6, with medals to be handed out in Ecker’s events (men’s K2 500-meter, K1 1,000-meter) on August 9 and August 10.
Travis Gaertner
Paralympian 2000, 2004
Sport: Para-Cycling
Hometown: Burien, WA
Elouan Gardon
Sport: Para-Cycling
Hometown: Acme, WA
Gardon, 18, grew up in California’s Bay Area before moving to Whatcom County in 2022. He is one of 13 athletes representing Team USA at the Paris Paralympic Games, and the youngest member of the team. Gardon only recently began para cycling after competing against able-bodied athletes during his career, according to a Loma Linda University Health staff report.
Gardon will represent his team as a track cycling specialist, and is part of Loma Linda’s PossAbilities program, a free outreach organization providing community opportunities to disabled individuals.
Nevin Harrison
Olympian 2020 (Gold medal, women’s canoe sprint)
Sport: Canoe/Kayak
Hometown: Seattle, WA
Keana Hunter
Sport: Artistic Swimming
Hometown: Seattle, WA
Aaron Keith
Paralympian 2020
Sport: Para-Cycling
Hometown: Woodinville, WA
Audrey Kwon
Sport: Artistic Swimming
Hometown: Seattle, WA
Lindi Marcusen
Sport: Para Track and Field
Hometown: Spokane, WA
Rielly Milne
Sport: Rowin
Hometown: Woodinville, WA
Evan Olson
Sport: Rowing
Hometown: Seattle, WA
Jacob Plihal
Sport: Rowing
Hometown: Vashon Island, WA
Jaleen Roberts
Paralympian 2020
Sport: Para Track and Field
Hometown: Kent, WA
Kenneth Rooks
Sport: Track and Field
Hometown: College Place, WA
Susannah Scaroni
Paralympian 2012, 2016, 2020
Sport: Para Track and Field
Hometown: Tekoa, WA
Aaron Small
Sport: Canoe/Kayak
Hometown: Seattle, WA
Taylor Swanson
Sport: Para Track and Field
Hometown: Spokane, WA
Hailey Van Lith
Sport: Basketball
Hometown: Wenatchee, WA
