James McEwan

Who is James McEwan?

James Patrick "Jamie" McEwan is a retired American slalom canoeist who competed in the 1970s and then again in the 1980s and early 1990s. He teamed up with his son Devin to compete in the 2000s. Competing in two Summer Olympics, he won a bronze medal in the C-1 event at Munich in 1972.

McEwan began kayaking at his family's Valley Mill Camp. He earned a degree in literature from Yale University in 1975. He is married to noted children's author and illustrator, Sandra Boynton, a Yale graduate, class of 1974.

With his partner, Lecky Haller, McEwan won a silver medal in the C-2 slalom at the 1987 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships in Bourg St.-Maurice. He and Haller placed fourth in the 1992 Summer Olympics. They have also won the overall World Cup title in the C-2 category in the inaugural season of this competition in 1988.

In 1998, McEwan and his brother Tom were members of an expedition to run the Tsangpo Gorge, considered the "Mount Everest" of rivers. The expedition encountered unanticipated high water and ended in tragedy when teammate Doug Gordon failed to boof a waterfall, missed his roll, and lost his life.

McEwan has written many children's books.