Jon Lugbill

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Jon Lugbill is widely considered to be the greatest whitewater canoe slalom racer ever. During the 1980's, he dominated international racing in Men's Individual C1 (a decked canoe, similar to a kayak). He is the only slalom racer to ever appear on the Wheaties box. He revolutionized the sport while producing innovations in paddling technique and boat design.

Jon started canoeing in the 1970's in the Washington, D.C. area. He often trained daily in his C1 using slalom gates set up on a feeder canal next to the Potomac River near Great Falls. During the winter, Jon and his fellow paddlers also trained in the David Taylor Model Basin. He and some other fellow racers (notably David Hearn) developed new designs of low volume decked canoes, using nylon, kevlar and fiberglass cloths mixed with epoxy resin.

In 1979, Jon won the C1 Men's Individual World Championship in Canoe Slalom at the first World Championships to be held on the North American continent at Jonquière (Canada). This was the first time an American had won a gold medal in the world whitewater canoe slalom championships. Jon went on to win gold in his category several more times; 1981 at Bala (Wales), 1983 at Merano (Italy), 1987 at Bourg St. Maurice (France), and 1989 at the Savage River (USA). In 1985 at Augsburg (Germany), Lugbill had to settle for the silver medal after David Hearn bested him for the gold.

During the peak of Lugbill's career, whitewater canoeing was not included on the competition program of the Summer Olympic Games. His only appearance on the Olympic stage came in 1992, when the sport returned to the Olympics after a 20-year absence. On the man-made course in La Seu d'Urgell, Spain, Lugbill placed fourth after being assessed for a five-second gate touch penalty at Gate 23 during his first run.

Born in Wauseon, Ohio, Jon Lugbill now serves as the Executive Director of Richmond Sports Backers, and resides in Richmond, Virginia.

All of the above results are from the International Canoe Federation's list of World Championships Medallists in Canoe Slalom[1]