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 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 ...

, he won a bronze medal in the C1 event at

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

. McEwan was born in

Olney, Maryland Olney is a census-designated place and an unincorporated area in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It is located in the north central part of the county, north of Washington, D.C. Olney was largely agricultural until the 1960s, when g ...

and began kayaking at his family's Valley Mill Camp. He earned a degree in literature from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

in 1975. He was married to children's author and illustrator

Sandra Boynton Sandra Keith Boynton (born April 3, 1953) is an American humorist, songwriter, director, music producer, children's author, and illustrator. Boynton has written and illustrated over eighty-five books for children and seven general audience books ...

, a fellow

Yale Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...

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 The 1987 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships were held in Bourg St.-Maurice, France under the auspices of International Canoe Federation The International Canoe Federation (ICF) is the umbrella organization of all national canoe organizations ...

in Bourg St.-Maurice. He and Haller placed fourth in the 1992 Summer Olympics. They have also won the overall

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

title in the C2 category in the inaugural season of this competition in

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

. In 1998 McEwan and his brother

Tom Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name. Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Tom'' (1973 film), or ''The Bad Bunch'', a blaxploitation film * ''Tom'' (2002 film) ...

were members of an expedition to run the

Tsangpo Gorge The Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon, also known as the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon, the Tsangpo Canyon, the Brahmaputra Canyon or the Tsangpo Gorge (), is a canyon along the Yarlung Tsangpo River in Tibet Autonomous Region, China. It is the deepest ...

, considered the "

Mount Everest Mount Everest (), known locally as Sagarmatha in Nepal and Qomolangma in Tibet, is Earth's highest mountain above sea level. It lies in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas and marks part of the China–Nepal border at it ...

" of rivers. The expedition encountered unanticipated high water and ended in tragedy when teammate Doug Gordon failed to boof a waterfall, missed his

roll Roll may refer to: Physics and engineering * Rolling, a motion of two objects with respect to each-other such that the two stay in contact without sliding * Roll angle (or roll rotation), one of the 3 angular degrees of freedom of any stiff bo ...

, and died. McEwan wrote many children's books. In 2009 he was diagnosed with

Multiple myeloma Multiple myeloma (MM), also known as plasma cell myeloma and simply myeloma, is a cancer of plasma cells, a type of white blood cell that normally produces antibody, antibodies. Often, no symptoms are noticed initially. As it progresses, bone ...

after suffering back problems and died on June 14, 2014.

World Cup individual podiums

Bibliography

* Jamie McEwan and Sandra Boynton (1988). ''Story of Grump and Pout''. Knopf Books for Young Readers. . * Jamie McEwan and Victor Kennedy (2004). ''Willy the Scrub''. Darby Creek Publishing. . * Jamie McEwan and John Margeson (2005). ''Whitewater Scrubs''. Darby Creek Publishing. . * Jamie McEwan and Victor Kennedy (2007). ''Rufus the Scrub Does Not Wear a Tutu''. Darby Creek Publishing. . * Jamie McEwan and Sandra Boynton (2002). ''The Heart Of Cool''. Simon Spotlight. . * Jamie McEwan and Victor Kennedy (2004). ''Willy the Scrub''. Darby Creek Publishing. . * Jamie McEwan and John Margeson (2008). ''Scrubs Forever!''. Darby Creek Publishing. ASIN B001TL2O5S. * Jamie McEwan and John Margeson (2007). ''Rufus the Scrub Does Not Wear a Tutu''. Darby Creek Publishing. .

Books about James McEwan

* Wickliffe Walker (2000). ''Courting the Diamond Sow : A Whitewater Expedition on Tibet's Forbidden River''. National Geographic Society. ASIN B001TL2O5S. * Todd Balf (2001). ''The Last River: The Tragic Race for Shangri-la ''. Three Rivers Press. .

References

* *

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:McEwan, James 1952 births 2014 deaths American male canoeists Canoeists at the 1972 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in canoeing Yale University alumni Sportspeople from Olney, Maryland International whitewater paddlers Deaths from multiple myeloma in the United States Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics Medalists at the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships 20th-century American sportsmen