(2014 ☆ ARCHIVED) Eric Jackson - USA
ERIC JACKSON (USA) - Nominee for 'Lifetime Achievement'
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jacksonkayak, Website: http://jacksonkayak.com
- Born: 1964, sports: canoe freestyle (K1), canoe slalom (K1) and extreme kayak (sprint, boater-x, river-running), represents: the USA
- 2014: competed in World Cup series and at Extreme Kayak World Championship
- 2013: 8th K1 freestyle World Championship
- Still on the USA Team 25 years running - representing the USA in either slalom, freestyle, or both!
Eric 'EJ' Jackson is 4-time K1 freestyle World Champion, he is perhaps the greatest K1 freestyle athlete that has lived as he has won over 100 events, more than any other kayaker.
He merits an Award for his achievements both as an athlete paddling many disciplines, and off-the-water in the manufacturing industry (below) as well as for supporting the paddlesport community extensively in many ways.
Eric has won 6 out of 12 major yearly freestyle competitions including: 4 Men’s Pro World Championships (2001, 2003, 2005, 2007), 2 Men’s 'Pre-World Championships', and 1 World Cup.
EJ has won a further two World Championship silvers, one in 2007 and the other in 2009 (Thun, Switzerland) he narrowly lost out to Canadian Nicholas Troutman.
Over 20 years of competitive paddling including at the Extreme World Championships, at the tender age of 50 Eric is still paddling and, what is even more incredible, still continues to pull out the results against younger male paddlers, often those more than half his age!
Eric was a member of the USA Kayak Team almost every year since 1989 in K1 slalom, even competing at the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games finishing 13th in K1 slalom.
Also keen on kayak-fishing, Eric is a pioneer freestyler who set many of today's moves that both guys and girls pull out on a daily basis. On his blog Eric writes his accomplishment is “living life with a passion for excellence” - enough said!
Activities and achievements off the water:
- Founder of Jackson Kayaks, boat manufacturing began in 2004.
- Two-time Everest Award winner
- Produced and featured in several instructional kayak DVDs
- Has has 2 books published
This is a 2014 archived nominee. For the 2015 nominees click on the button below.
