Jonas Ecker update: Here’s how Bellingham local did in Wednesday races at Paris Olympics
Bellingham native Jonas Ecker made his Olympic debut Tuesday morning in the men’s canoe sprint 500 meter K-2 (doubles kayak), securing a spot in Friday’s semifinal.
His follow-up performance, in Wednesday’s 1,000 meter K-1 (individual kayak) race, didn’t go as well.
Ecker misses the cut for the semifinals
Ecker impressed in the preliminary round, taking third place in his heat with a time of 3:37.21. But with only the top two finishers in each heat earning an automatic bid to the semifinal, Ecker needed to go through the quarterfinal just hours later.
Competing in the first of three quarterfinal heats, Ecker’s showing wasn’t as strong. Needing a top-two finish to reach the semifinals, the Sehome High School graduate trailed the leader by just over a second through the first 250 meters. But Ecker lost time over the remainder of the race, finishing in fifth place. His time of 3:41.77 was 11 seconds behind second-place Matias Otero of Uruguay.
Ecker in Olympics Aug. 9
While Ecker missed the cut for the K-1 semifinals, the Olympics aren’t over for him yet. Ecker and his racing partner Aaron Small will compete in the K-2 semifinals on Friday, Aug. 9. If you’re watching from Bellingham, the race starts at 2:10 a.m. and can be streamed on Peacock. If the duo advances to the finals, you can watch them just over two hours later on Peacock or E!
This story was originally published August 7, 2024 at 10:34 AM.