David Hearn's 1996 Olympic Journal
photo © by Chris Smith
Whitewater Slalom World Champion & Olympian
C1 (Men’s Single Canoe)
Born April 17, 1959
Height 5’10”; Weight 165 lb.
Hometown is Bethesda, Maryland
U.S. Whitewater Team Member since 1977
David Hearn's America Online Olympic Journal
| May 7, 1996 | May 14, 1996 | May 22, 1996 | June 12, 1996 | June 22, 1996 |
| July 6, 1996 | July 10, 1996 | July 18, 1996 | July 21, 1996 | August 5, 1996 |
Whitewater Highlights
Current World Champion in the Whitewater Slalom C1
class...won the 1996 Olympic Team Trials on the Ocoee River and place 9th in
the 1996 Olympic Games...placed 6th in the Ocoee River April qualifier and 4th
in the World Cup race...placed 4th in the Augsburg, Germany June qualifier and
5th in the World Cup event...won the 1995 Whitewater World Championships in
Nottingham, England, ten years after his first World Championship victory in Augsburg, Germany...qualified a 1996
Olympic C1 starting position for the United States in the 1995 World
Championship qualification race...named 1995 top ten SportsMan of the year by
the United States Olympic Committee...holds a total of eight World Championship
gold medals with two Individual Slalom C1 wins, and six Team golds...Five time
World Championship Silver Medalist at Jonquiere, Quebec, 1979; Bala, Wales,
1981; Merano, Italy, 1983; Bourg St. Maurice, France, 1987; and Bloomington,
Maryland, 1989...winner of the twenty-two National Championship titles
including 13 National titles in C1 slalom...more National Whitewater
Championship titles than any other American...Silver Medalist in Inaugural 1988
Whitewater Slalom World Cup season, and again in 1989 and 1993...World Cup
Bronze Medal in 1990...Bronze medal 1991 Pre-Olympics and 11th 1992 Olympics La
Seu d’Urgell, Spain...winner of the Champion International Whitewater Series in
1990 and 1994...member of the Canoe Cruisers Association and the Bethesda
Center of Excellence...coached in Bethesda by Silvan Poberaj, Gordon Bare, and
Jennifer Hearn...National Team coaches Mike Larimer, Jiri Pultera, and Bob
Campbell.
Personal
Grew up in Garrett Park, Maryland...attended Walter Johnson High School...geology degree from the University of Massachusetts in 1982...lives in Bethesda, Maryland near the Feeder Canal whitewater training course on the Potomac River...David enjoys a view of the Little Falls rapids from his front door...owns a paddling gear business, Maximum Whitewater Performance, which features whitewater slalom canoes & kayaks, paddles, helmets, and accessories...Hearn family members are whitewater enthusiasts: Father Carter is an expert C-boater and Eskimo roll instructor, sister Cathy was triple gold World Champion and 1992 Olympian, brother Bill was a 1995 National Team Member and 1994 Olympic Festival Champion, wife Jennifer was a member of the 1995 National Team and 1993 Olympic Festival Champion.
Interests
David enjoys paddling whitewater rivers in the USA and worldwide...strong advocate of clean free-flowing rivers and streams for today and future generations...spokesperson for the American Whitewater...enjoys hiking in the outdoors, in-line skating, running, bicycling, skiing...Upstream Edge member of Team Perception...member of Clyde’s Whitewater Racing Team...shares his knowledge and twenty-five years of whitewater racing experience with aspiring junior and developing athletes in the United States and around the world...designer of 20 slalom canoes and kayaks which are used worldwide.
