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Fitzloyd Walker

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Fitz Walker
Personal information
NationalityJamaican and British
Born (1959-03-07) 7 March 1959 (age 66)
Jamaica
Sport
SportFreestyle wrestling
Judo
ClubManchester YMCA
Medal record
Representing  England
Freestyle wrestling
Commonwealth Games
Bronze medal – third place 1986 Edinburgh Welterweight (74kg)
Commonwealth Championship
Silver medal – second place 1991 Dunedin Welterweight (74kg)[1]
British Senior Championships
Gold medal – first place 1979 Lightweight (69 kg)[2]
Gold medal – first place 1980 Welterweight (76 kg)[2]
Gold medal – first place 1981 Welterweight (76 kg)[2]
Gold medal – first place 1982 Welterweight (76 kg)[2]
Gold medal – first place 1983 Welterweight (76 kg)[2]
Gold medal – first place 1984 Welterweight (76 kg)[2]
Gold medal – first place 1985 Welterweight (76 kg)[2]
Gold medal – first place 1986 Welterweight (76 kg)[2]
Gold medal – first place 1987 Welterweight (76 kg)[2]
Gold medal – first place 1988 Welterweight (76 kg)[2]
Gold medal – first place 1989 Welterweight (76 kg)[2]
Gold medal – first place 1990 Welterweight (76 kg)[2]
Gold medal – first place 1991 Welterweight (76 kg)[2]
Gold medal – first place 1992 Welterweight (76 kg)[2]
Judo
British Judo Championships
Bronze medal – third place 1980 London -71 kg[3]
Gold medal – first place 1982 Manchester -71 kg[3]

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]

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

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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 74kg weight class and finished in sixth place at the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.[11] He represented England and won a bronze medal in the 74kg division at the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, Scotland.[12][13] In 1991, Walker took silverin the 74kg weight class at the Commonwealth Wrestling Championship.[4]

Walker is a fourteen-time British champion. 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

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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]

References

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  1. ^ "Commonwealth Championship". whatsmat.uww.org. Archived from the original on 20 December 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "List of British Senior Champions from 1904 - 2001" (PDF). Britishwrestling.org. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 February 2024. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d "Fitz Walker profile". Judo Inside. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  4. ^ a b "Walker, Fitzlloyd (GBR)". whatsmat.uww.org. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  5. ^ "Lloyd-Walker, Fritz (GBR)". whatsmat.uww.org. Archived from the original on 20 December 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  6. ^ a b c d Michaelas, Andreas (22 October 2020). "Black History Month - A look at British Wrestling History". British Wrestling. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  7. ^ a b c "Black history: Fitz Walker and Noel Loban broke barriers to join the world's wrestling elite". Voice Online. 14 November 2020. Archived from the original on 21 October 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  8. ^ Ingle, Sean (27 January 2022). "History rewritten with wrestler Louis Bruce revealed as Britain's first black Olympian". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  9. ^ a b "Fitz Lloyd Walker | YMCA Manchester". Archived from the original on 20 December 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  10. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Fitzloyd Walker Olympic Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  11. ^ "1982 Athletes". Team England. Archived from the original on 21 August 2019. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
  12. ^ "1986 Athletes". Team England. Archived from the original on 21 August 2019. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
  13. ^ "Athletes and results". Commonwealth Games Federation.[permanent dead link]
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