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| Nationality | Jamaican and British | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 7 March 1959 Jamaica | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Wrestling, judo | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Manchester YMCA | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Fitzloyd 'Fitz' Dean Walker (born 7 March 1959) is a Jamaican-British retired wrestler and judoka, who represented Great Britain and England. [3] In wrestling, he won medals at the Commonwealth Games and Commonwealth Championship, [4] [5] along with being a record-setting fourteen-time British champion. [2] [6]
Walker began training in wrestling at the YMCA in 1973 at his judo instructor's suggestion. [7]
For international competition, Walker represented Jamaica at the 1978 Commonwealth Games. [8] Walker then competed at the 1980 Summer Olympics, becoming the first black wrestler to represent Great Britain at the Olympics. He later competed at the 1984 Summer Olympics and the 1988 Summer Olympics. [8] [9] [6] He represented England in the 74kg weight class and finished in sixth place at the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. [10] He represented England and won a bronze medal in the 74kg division at the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, Scotland. [11] [12] In 1991, Walker took silver in 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. [7] [6]
He became a champion of Great Britain, winning the lightweight division at the British Judo Championships in 1982. [13]
Wrestling is a martial art and combat sport that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves different grappling-type techniques, such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins, and other grappling holds. Many different wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat sports, and military systems.
Baraladei Daniel Igali is a Nigerian-Canadian wrestler. He won Canada's first ever Olympic gold medal in wrestling at the 2000 Summer Olympics and remains Canada's only male Olympic gold medalist in wrestling.
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Raymond Stevens is a male retired judoka from the United Kingdom.
Sharon Susan RendleMBE is a female retired judoka from the United Kingdom.
Nigel John Patrick Donohue is a British retired judoka and wrestler.
Joseph Reid was an English wrestler. He was a champion in Lancashire style wrestling, a six-time British champion, a two-time British Empire Games medallist, European Championships bronze medallist, and represented Great Britain at the 1932 Summer Olympics.
Nathanael Leedom Ackerman, known as Nate Ackerman, is a British-American mathematician and wrestler. He is the son of Peter Ackerman and Joanne Leedom-Ackerman.
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Karen Valerie Briggs MBE is a British retired judoka. Internationally active throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Briggs was a multiple World (four-time) and European (five-time) champion, represented Great Britain at the 1992 Olympic Games, and won gold for England at the 1990 Commonwealth Games. She is a member of the IJF Hall of Fame, and recognised as one of the most successful British and female judoka of all time.
John Andrew Savidge was a British track and field athlete who specialised in the shot put.
Olga McGlinchey is a Ukrainian-British wrestler. She became Britain's first medalist at the World Wrestling Championships by winning bronze in 2012. She is also a two-time European Championship bronze medalist and a 2013 Commonwealth Championship silver medalist. She was Britain's sole wrestler the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Maria Prevolaraki is a Greek freestyle wrestler. She competed in the freestyle 55 kg event at the 2012 Summer Olympics and was eliminated by Yuliya Ratkevich in the 1/8 finals. That year, she also won a bronze medal at the World Championships.
Colin Frederick Walker is an English former athlete who specialised in the 3000 metres steeplechase.
Diane Bell is a British former judoka. She won the 56–61 kg event at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, but at the time women's judo was still a demonstration sport, so unlike the men Bell did not enter the list of Olympic medalists in judo. She also won two World Judo Championships, a Commonwealth Games gold and three European Judo Championships.
Anthony 'Tony' Shacklady was a male British wrestler.
Carol Anne Page was a British sport shooter. She represented Great Britain at the Olympic Games and World and European Championship level as well as representing England at the Commonwealth Games, winning two medals in 1994.
Hannah Fay Taylor is a Canadian freestyle wrestler. Taylor competed for Canada at the 2019 Pan American Games, and at the Pan American Wrestling Championships she won the silver medal in 2019 and 2020. She won one of the bronze medals in the women's 57 kg event at the 2022 Commonwealth Games held in Birmingham, England. She is a member of the women's wrestling team at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario.
