Personal information | |||||||||||||
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Full name | Joseph Bennet Jacobi | ||||||||||||
Born |
September 26, 1969 (age 47) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
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Medal record
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Joseph Bennet "Joe" Jacobi (born September 26, 1969 in Washington, D.C.) is an American former slalom canoeist who competed from the mid-1980s to the mid-2000s. Competing in two Summer Olympics, he won a gold in the C-2 event at Barcelona in 1992.
Jacobi began canoeing at a day camp in Maryland. After growing up paddling on the Potomac River, Jacobi took his talents to the international stage and competed in twenty different countries, winning Whitewater National Championships in Australia, the Czech Republic, Costa Rica, Chile, and the U.S. Jacobi won the C-2 U.S. National Championship for five consecutive years (1988–1992), and finished second in the overall standings of the C-1 Champion International Whitewater series in 1991 and 1995 (he also placed fifth in 1992 and third in 1994).
Jacobi was a member of the United States' canoe team at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, competing in the C2 slalom event. He and his partner Scott Strausbaugh captured the gold medal, the first American team in Olympic history to capture a gold medal in whitewater slalom. Jacobi finished in second place in his single canoe class at the 2000 Olympic Trials and was an alternate for the American team; he did not compete in Sydney. After 2000, Jacobi continued to compete at a high level, he captured the U.S. Championship in 2002 and then finished ninth at the 2003 World Championships with teammate Matt Taylor. In 2000, Jacobi was named 'Paddler of the Century' by Paddler Magazine. On December 15, 2001, Jacobi carried the Olympic torch through Nashville, Tennessee as it made its way to Salt Lake City, Utah, for the 2002 Winter Games. Jacobi stated, "With the recent challenges confronting our society, the upcoming Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City not only offer a tremendous element of healing for our country, but also a source of inspiration for the entire world."