Jonas Ecker is 23 and is a canoeist from Bellingham. Ecker attended Sehome and is now attending the University of Washington to study marine biology. His partner will be Aaron Small who is from Seattle, went to high school at Roosevelt, and also attended the University of Washington. Small is an impressive athlete in the world of sprint kayak and is also 23 years old. Ecker and Small have become the first duo in 20 years the U.S. men have qualified a Kayak Double to compete in the Olympics. Ecker and Small broke out in 2022 when they raced in a double kayak for the first time at the international level and placed 7th at the Senior Worlds in the Men’s K2 500m. Then, they earned the bronze medal at the U23 Worlds in the Men’s K2 500m. Just to qualify for the team, they needed to win the Men’s K2 500m event at the 2024 Americas Continental Olympic Qualifier and the Canoe Sprint Pan American Championships and they did just that.

The duo qualified for the Men’s K2 500m event and will independently compete in the Men’s K1 1000m event.

Click here for Jonas Ecker’s Team USA bio.

Click here for Aaron Small’s Team USA bio.

Click here for an interview that Jonas Ecker did with 92.9 KISM in Bellingham.