Gregory Mark Barton (born December 2, 1959) is an American sprint kayaker who competed from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s. During his career he won four Olympic medals, including two gold medals, and four world championship titles.

Career

Competing in three

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

, Barton won four medals with two golds (K-1 1000 m, K-2 1000 m: both 1988) and two bronzes (

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

: both in K-1 1000 m). Barton also won six medals at the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships with four golds (K-1 1000 m:

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

, K-1 10000 m:

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

, 1987,

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

), a silver (K-1 10000 m:

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

), and a bronze (K-1 1000 m: 1991). He received a BSE degree in

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines and mechanism (engineering), mechanisms that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and engineering mathematics, mathematics principl ...

in 1983 from the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, where he was a member of

Chi Phi Chi Phi () is considered by some as the oldest American men's college social fraternity that was established as the result of the merger of three separate organizations that were each known as Chi Phi. The earliest of these organizations was forme ...

fraternity. He lives in Seattle, WA with his wife, the former Justine Smith, and their two daughters. The Greg Barton Cup Challenge for the

United States Canoe Association The United States Canoe Association (USCA) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization devoted to canoeing and paddle sports within the United States. Established in 1968, it is headquartered in Lafayette, Indiana. USCA promotes and encourages the gr ...

is named in his honor. Shortly before he competed in the Olympics, Barton moved to

Homer, Michigan Homer is a village in Calhoun County, Michigan, Calhoun County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is part of the Battle Creek, Michigan, Battle Creek, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,575 at the 2020 United States census ...

. The traffic circle downtown was named in his honor after he won his gold medals. His brother,

Bruce The English language name Bruce arrived in Scotland with the Normans, from the place name Brix, Manche in Normandy, France, meaning "the willowlands". Initially promulgated via the descendants of king Robert the Bruce (1274−1329), it has been ...

, competed in canoeing for the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

at the

1976 Summer Olympics The 1976 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Montreal 1976 (), were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to August 1, 1976, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Montreal ...

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. Barton currently co-owns and operates Epic Kayaks, which makes high-end kayaks, surfskis, and paddles. His daughters are Hayley and Kendall. Greg and Kevin Olney won the first SEVENTY48 human powered race in an Epic Surf Ski averaging about 7 mph for the 70 miles from Tacoma, WA to Port Townsend, WA on June 11–12, 2018.

References

* * * *

External links

"Greg Barton"
''Epic Kayaks''.
"The Barton Mold"
''Epic Kayaks''. * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Barton, Greg 1959 births Living people American male canoeists Sportspeople from Jackson, Michigan University of Michigan College of Engineering alumni American mechanical engineers ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships medalists in kayak Canoeists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in canoeing Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in canoeing Canoeists at the 1987 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1987 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in canoeing 20th-century American sportsmen

Career

References

Further reading

External links