If kayaker Jonas Ecker of Bellingham is going to see further success at the 2024 Paris Olympics, he’ll have to do it as part of a team.
Ecker finished fifth in his quarterfinal heat at the Men’s Kayak Single 1,000-meter Wednesday morning at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium and did not advance, ending his Olympic hopes in that event.
He and teammate Aaron Small of Seattle are still alive in the Men’s Kayak Double 500-meter race. The semifinals are set for 2:10 a.m. PST Friday, with the top four of eight boats advancing to the medal round at 4:20 a.m. PST.
Ecker, 21, had high hopes for a better result in the individual race, where he had won the Under-23 world championship last month. But a field of veteran talent — and an unfortunate tangle with some weeds that have stymied several boats at the natural-water site — made it an unexpectedly difficult day for Ecker.
Ecker’s time of 3 minutes, 41.77 seconds was well off the pace set by Maxime Beaumont of France, who won the heat in 3:29.66. Uruguay’s Matias Valentin Otero Ezcurra was second in 3:30.81. Only the top two in each of three quarterfinals advanced to the semifinals, set for Saturday.
Iran’s Ali Aghamirzaeijenaghard was third in 3:33.78 and Dong Zhang of China fourth in 3:37.75.
Small, a recent University of Washington graduate, also did not advance past the quarterfinal, finishing fifth in his heat in 3:42.05.
Ecker, a 2021 Sehome High graduate and five-time Ski to Sea competitor, looked to have a decent start and was third at the 250-meter split. He suddenly fell to fifth at the halfway point as the top four churned ahead. With 250 meters to go, about 35 meters separated Ecker from the leader.
“About 200 to 250 meters in, I caught some weeds, and that kind of ended my race there,” Ecker said by phone from Paris Wednesday morning. “I still fought through to the finish, but by no means was it a good race after that. So that was a little disappointing and bad luck.”
Ecker said the race start was delayed as officials in a boat attempted to cut the weeds, which have plagued the venue. Some of the weed detritus remained, pushed around by wind.
Ecker said one competitor, more accomplished than Ecker in the senior international ranks, successfully appealed his weed-wracked finish for a semifinal berth. Ecker felt he did not have the resume for a positive appeal outcome, and the fact he got ensnared early did not help.
In similar water conditions (weed-free), Ecker has posted times in the low 3:30s. He said natural forces often play a role in races.
“It’s frustrating as an athlete to have that happen just from something out of your control … But … it’s not anyone’s fault in any way. The organizers are doing their best. It’s just kind of what happens, or what can happen,” he said.
In the first heat, Ecker was third in the six-boat field with a time of 3:37.21. He could have been faster, but since the top two from the five preliminary heats qualify directly for the semifinal, if Ecker feels he won’t be in the top two, he and other racers often employ the strategy of saving energy for the quarterfinal. Portugal’s Fernando Pimenta and individual neutral athlete (Russia and Belarus) Uladzislau Kravets were first and second in 3:29.76 and 3:32.07, respectively, from Ecker’s early heat.
Hungary’s Balint Kopasz holds the world’s best 1,000-meter time of 3:20.64, set at the Tokyo Games in 2021. Kopasz qualified for the semifinals from the heats with a time of 3:26.44.
Despite Wednesday’s setback, Ecker’s Olympic future is bright. At 21, he was the youngest in his quarterfinal heat by five years. Beaumont, the winner of that heat, is 42.
Ecker has set his sights for Friday’s double semifinal with Small.
“I think we have the opportunity to better that,” Ecker said. “But like I said yesterday, it just comes down to … the smallest margin. So we do our best to prepare and put out our best race.”
