Fitzloyd Walker
British wrestler
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fitzloyd 'Fitz' Dean Walker (born 7 March 1959) is a Jamaican-British retired wrestler and judoka, who represented Great Britain and England. In freestyle wrestling, he won medals at the Commonwealth Games and Commonwealth Championship,[4][5] along with a record-setting fourteen British championships.[2][6] In judo, he was a gold and bronze medallist at the British Judo Championships.[3]
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationality | Jamaican and British | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 7 March 1959 Jamaica | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Freestyle wrestling Judo | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Manchester YMCA | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
It was previously thought that Walker was the first black wrestler to represent Great Britain at the Olympics before the discovery of Louis Bruce, Britain's first black Olympian.[6][7][8]
Wrestling career
Walker began training in wrestling at the YMCA in 1973 at his judo instructor's suggestion.[9]
For international competition, Walker represented Jamaica at the 1978 Commonwealth Games.[7] Walker represented Great Britain at the 1980 Summer Olympics, the 1984 Summer Olympics, and the 1988 Summer Olympics.[6][7][10]
He represented England in the 74 kg weight class and finished in sixth place at the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, Australia.[11] He represented England and won a bronze medal in the 74 kg division at the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, Scotland.[12][13] In 1991, Walker took silver in the 74 kg weight class at the Commonwealth Wrestling Championship.[4]
Walker is a fourteen-time British champion at the British Wrestling Championships. He won the lightweight (69 kg/152 lb) division at the 1979 British Senior Championships before becoming the welterweight (76 kg/168 lb) champion for thirteen years in a row from 1980 to 1992.[2] This achievement was acknowledged in The Guinness Book of Records.[9][6]
Judo career
Walker placed third in the -71 kg division at the 1980 British Judo Championships. He became a champion at the British Judo Championships in 1982, winning the -71 kg division.[3]
