James McEwan

James Patrick McEwan (September 24, 1952 – June 14, 2014) was an 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 C1 event at Munich in 1972.

McEwan was born in Olney, Maryland and began kayaking at his family's Valley Mill Camp. He earned a degree in literature from Yale University in 1975. He was married to children's author and illustrator Sandra Boynton, a fellow Yale graduate (class of 1974).

With his partner, Lecky Haller, McEwan won a silver medal in the C2 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 C2 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 died.

McEwan wrote many children's books. In 2009 he was diagnosed with Multiple myeloma after suffering back problems and died on June 14, 2014.

World Cup individual podiums

SeasonDateVenuePositionEvent 1988 26 June 1988 Savage River 2nd C2 2 July 1988 Minden 1st C2 4 July 1988 South Bend 1st C2 1989 2nd C2 15 Aug 1989 Augsburg 2nd C2 20 Aug 1989 Tacen 2nd C21990 26 Aug 1990 Tacen 2nd C21991 25 Aug 1991 Minden 2nd C21992 20 Jun 1992 Bourg St.-Maurice 2nd C2