Jacob Alexander "Lecky" Haller (born 2 August 1957 in Glencoe, Maryland) is an American slalom canoeist who competed from the early 1980s to the early 2000s. He won four medals at the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships with a gold (C2: 1983), two silvers (C2: 1987, C2 team: 1983) and a bronze (C2 team: 1985).
He first attended Johns Hopkins University as a freshman lacrosse recruit. However, he transferred to Washington College for his remaining three years where he continued his lacrosse career. Haller also pledged Phi Gamma Delta (Fiji) and was his class's PCP. In 1979 he became an All American honorable mention, and in 1980 he made the first team for All American Lacrosse. Lecky graduated from Washington College in 1981 with a bachelor's in history. After graduation, Haller started his paddling career until 1992. He worked briefly as a 7th grade teacher at French Broad River Academy in Asheville. He currently works at Asheville School, In Asheville, North Carolina. While working at this institution he has held many jobs including, football coach, ski team instructor, head men's lacrosse coach, and mountaineering staff. Currently, Haller works as the Assistant Director of the Mountaineering department and leads the ski team on their trips to the semi-local ski resort Cataloochee. He is a 15-time National Champion and a two-time Olympian.
Haller also competed in two Summer Olympics, earning his best finish of fourth in the C2 event in Barcelona in 1992. In 1996 he was ranked Number 1 in the world for men's C2. In 2000 at the Sydney Olympics Haller finished 12th with partner, Matt Taylor.
In 1988 he won the inaugural overall World Cup title in the C2 category partnering Jamie McEwan, who was his C2 partner until 1992. He was also partnered by his younger brother Fritz Haller and Matt Taylor during his career. He is arguably the best American C2 paddler ever and is the only one to win a world cup gold in Prague, Czech Republic and also the only American to ever win a medal in Japan, a world cup gold at the Asahi World Cup, both times partnering with his brother Fritz.
His ex-wife, Cathy Hearn, and his ex-brother-in-law, David Hearn, also competed in canoe slalom for the United States.
World Cup individual podiums Total C2 4 9 3 16
SeasonDateVenuePositionEvent 1988 26 June 1988 Savage River 2nd C2 2 July 1988 Minden 1st C2 4 July 1988 South Bend 1st C2 1989 2nd C2 15 August 1989 Augsburg 2nd C2 20 August 1989 Tacen 2nd C21990 26 August 1990 Tacen 2nd C21991 25 August 1991 Minden 2nd C21992 20 June 1992 Bourg St.-Maurice 2nd C21993 31 August 1993 Ocoee 3rd C21994 18 September 1994 Asahi, Aichi 1st C2 1995 25 June 1995 Prague 1st C2 1 October 1995 Ocoee 2nd C2 1996 16 June 1996 Augsburg 2nd C2 29 September 1996 Três Coroas 3rd C21998 2 August 1998 Wausau 3rd C2
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