On July 28 and 29, 2004 Walt Whitman High School graduate Alejandro Schwedhelm participated on the US Pan Am Team as a sprint canoeist. The Pan American Games took place in Rio de Janeiro and are known as Olympic-style games for the Americas.
Schwedhelm is a member of the local Washington Canoe Club, where he has won several medals at the national level in the US. He originally grew up in Mexico, where he also won several canoeing events.