Jon Phillip Lugbill (born May 27, 1961 in

Wauseon, Ohio Wauseon ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Fulton County, Ohio, approximately 31 mi (51 km) west of Toledo. The population was 7,332 at the time of the 2010 census. History Wauseon was platted 1853 when the Michigan Southern Air ...

) is a

whitewater Whitewater forms in a rapid context, in particular, when a river's gradient changes enough to generate so much turbulence that air is trapped within the water. This forms an unstable current that froths, making the water appear opaque and ...

canoe A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the ter ...

slalom racer. During the 1980s, he participated in international racing in Men's Individual C1 (a decked canoe, similar to a kayak). He is the only slalom racer to ever appear on the

Wheaties Wheaties is an American brand of breakfast cereal that is made by General Mills. It is well known for featuring prominent athletes on its packages and has become a cultural icon in the United States. Originally introduced as Washburn's Gold Meda ...

box. Lugbill started canoeing in the 1970s in the

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

area. He often trained daily in his C1 using slalom gates set up on a feeder canal next to the

Potomac River The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Augu ...

near Great Falls. During the winter, Lugbill and his fellow paddlers also trained in the

David Taylor Model Basin The David Taylor Model Basin (DTMB) is one of the largest ship model basins—test facilities for the development of ship design—in the world. DTMB is a field activity of the Carderock Division of the Naval Surface Warfare Center. Hist ...

. He and some other fellow racers (notably David Hearn) developed new designs of low volume decked canoes, using nylon, kevlar and fiberglass cloths mixed with epoxy resin. In

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...

, Lugbill won the C1 men's individual World Championship in canoe slalom at the first

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

to be held on the North American continent at

Jonquière Jonquière (; ; 2021 population: 60,250) is a borough (arrondissement) of the city of Saguenay in the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec, Canada. It is located on the Saguenay River, near the borough of Chicoutimi. History Jonquièr ...

(Canada). This was the first time an American had won a gold medal in the world canoe slalom championships. Lugbill went on to win gold in his category several more times;

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

at Bala (Wales),

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...

Meran Merano (, , ) or Meran () is a city and ''comune'' in South Tyrol, northern Italy. Generally best known for its spa resorts, it is located within a basin, surrounded by mountains standing up to above sea level, at the entrance to the Passeier ...

(

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...

at Bourg St. Maurice (France), and

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs ...

at the Savage River (USA). In

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 ...

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(then in West Germany), Lugbill had to settle for the silver medal after David Hearn bested him for the gold. Lugbill also won seven consecutive world championship gold medals in the C1 team event (1979-1991). His older brother

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was part of the gold medal winning C1 team in 1981. Lugbill won three consecutive overall

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titles in the C1 category including the inaugural edition in 1988. During the peak of Lugbill's career, whitewater canoeing was not included on the competition program of the Summer Olympic Games. His only appearance on the Olympic stage came in 1992, when the sport returned to the Olympics after a 20-year absence. On the man-made course in

La Seu d'Urgell La Seu d'Urgell (; es, Seo de Urgel, formerly in ca, Urgell}) is a town located in the Catalan Pyrenees in Spain. La Seu d'Urgell is also the capital of the comarca Alt Urgell, head of the judicial district of la Seu d'Urgell and the seat of ...

, Spain, Lugbill placed fourth after being assessed for a five-second gate touch penalty at Gate 23 during his first run. Lugbill is the Executive Director of Metropolitan Richmond

Sports Backers Sports Backers is a non-profit organization founded in 1991 and located in Richmond, Virginia at Sports Backers Stadium. The mission of the Sports Backers has expanded from its beginnings as a traditional sports commission for economic development t ...

and resides in Richmond, Virginia. The Sports Backers have been named the best Sports Commission in America an unprecedented 4 times by the National Association of Sports Commissions. Lugbill lived in Archbold, Ohio until he was three years old. Then he moved to Vienna and then Fairfax, Virginia. He attended Lanier Intermediate School in Fairfax and Oakton High School. He graduated from the University of Virginia. He has two daughters, Kelly and Stephanie.

World Cup individual podiums

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lugbill, Jon 1961 births American male canoeists Canoeists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Living people Olympic canoeists of the United States People from Wauseon, Ohio Sportspeople from Richmond, Virginia Whitewater sports people Medalists at the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships