Jim Walker (rower)

Last updated

Jim Walker OLY
British International Rower Jim Walker, Hammersmith, London, 1996.jpg
Jim Walker training on the River Thames, Hammersmith (November 1996)
Personal information
Full nameJames David Campbell Walker
NationalityBritish
Born (1968-08-25) 25 August 1968 (age 56)
Chester, England
Education King's School, Chester
Alma mater Imperial College London (BSc) Imperial College Centre for Environmental Technology (MSc)
Sport
Sport Rowing
Club Molesey Boat Club
Leander Club
University of London Boat Club
Imperial College Boat Club
Coached bySean Bowden
Marty Aitken
Jürgen Gröbler
Harry Mahon
Bill Mason
Medal record
Men's rowing
Representing Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain
World Rowing Championships
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1989 Bled Eight
Lucerne International Regatta
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1990 Rotsee Eight
San Diego Crew Classic
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1990 San Diego Elite Eight
World Junior Rowing Championships
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 1986 Račice Coxless Four

Biography

James David Campbell Walker (born 25 August 1968) is a British former Olympic oarsman and subsequently climate change campaigner from Chester. He was active in international rowing between 1985 and 2000, and currently resides near Durham, North Carolina.

Contents

Rowing career

Walker won a bronze medal in the Men's Eight event at the 1989 World Rowing Championships and competed in the same boat class at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona and the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. [1]

He competed for Great Britain at two Junior World Championships (1985 and 1986), the 1987 Under-23 World Championships, the 1987 World Student Games, six World Championships from 1989 to 1995, and two Goodwill Games in 1990 and 1994. [2] He was a world junior silver medalist in 1986, competing in a British four with Matt Brittin, Jonny Searle and Mark Pierce.

During his rowing career he competed for clubs including King's Chester, [3] Imperial College, University of London, [4] Leander and Molesey. [1]

He is a four-time winner at Henley Royal Regatta, including the Stewards' Challenge Cup in 1989 and 1991, [5] the Prince Philip in 1993 and the Visitors' in 1987. His 1989 winning time of 6.28 made his ULBC/OUBC crew with Jonny Searle, Rupert Obholzer and Jonny Hulls the first four to finish under six and a half minutes, breaking the previous Stewards' record by 12 seconds.

As part of the debate following the Atlanta Olympics about the then chronic lack of funding for elite sport in Britain, [6] Walker was identified by the Guardian newspaper as one of five examples of unfunded Team GB athletes deserving of National Lottery support for the 1996-2000 Olympic cycle, alongside sailor Sir Ben Ainslie, swimmer Paul Palmer, sprinter Angie Thorp and canoeist Lynn Simpson. [7]

He was a member of the British sculling squad in 1998, was a reserve for the 1999 World Championships sweep team and also a final trialist for the British team for the 2000 Olympics, where he was ultimately unsuccessful in securing selection for a third Games in Sydney. [8]

Post-sport career

Inspired in part by the work of James Lovelock, after the 1996 Olympics Walker returned to Imperial College to study Environmental Technology, working subsequently for six years in environmental consultancy, [9] the first three of which he combined with seeking selection for the Sydney Olympic Games. He retired from rowing in 2000.

"I love how The Climate Group started, with co-founders Jim Walker and Steve Howard going from working on a borrowed laptop in an office rented using a credit card, to bringing together leaders from around the world to combat climate change"
Sir Richard Branson, Low carbon innovation and leadership,Virgin Group blog, 2014 [10]

Together with Dr. Steve Howard and Alison Lucas, Walker co-founded the international climate change organization The Climate Group in 2004, serving for 10 years as COO in London, Beijing and the United States. [10] [11] [9] In 2014 he worked as founding CEO to help establish the We Mean Business coalition, a campaign that worked to mobilize business in support of the United Nations Paris Agreement on climate. [12]

From 2007 to 2017 he was a final jury member for the annual Dutch Postcode Lottery Green Challenge, one of the world’s biggest sustainability competitions by prize value. [13] Until 2023 he led partnerships and fundraising efforts for the United Nations-affiliated initiative SEforALL, reporting to two successive Special Representatives of the UN Secretary-General. [14] [9]

Marty Pickett, Coen van Oostrom, Jose Maria Figueres Olsen, Jim Walker and Leila Janah.jpg
Walker (second from right) with fellow judges Marty Pickett, Coen van Oostrom, former President of Costa Rica José María Figueres and Leila Janah. Postcode Lottery Green Challenge, Amsterdam, September 2012.

Rowing results

YearEventVenueBoat classResult
1985 Junior World Championships Brandenburg, East Germany 2- 8th
1986 Junior World Championships Roudnice/Racice, Czechoslovakia 4- Silver
1987 Under-23 World Championships Aiguebelette, France 4- 5th
1989 World Championships Bled, Yugoslavia 8o Bronze
1990 San Diego Crew Classic San Diego, USA 8o Gold
1990 Lucerne International Regatta Lucerne, Switzerland 8o Gold
1990 Goodwill Games Seattle, USA 8o, 4+ -
1990 World Championships Lake Barrington, Tasmania, Australia 8o 4th
1991 Grunau International Regatta Grunau, Berlin, Germany 4- Gold
1991 World Championships Vienna, Austria 4- 7th
1992 Olympic Games Barcelona, Spain 8o 6th
1993 World Championships Roudnice/Racice, Czech Republic 8o 6th
1994 Goodwill Games Saint Petersburg, Russia 8o -
1994 World Championships Indianapolis, USA 8o 8th
1995 World Championships Tampere, Finland 8o 6th
1996 Olympic Games Atlanta, USA 8o 8th
1999 World Championships St. Catherine’s, CanadaReserven/a

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Redgrave</span> British rower (born 1962)

Sir Steven Geoffrey Redgrave is a British retired rower who won gold medals at five consecutive Olympic Games from 1984 to 2000. He has also won three Commonwealth Games gold medals and nine World Rowing Championships golds. He is the most successful male rower in Olympic history, and the only man to have won gold medals at five Olympic Games in an endurance sport.

Daniel "Dan" Topolski was a British author, rower, rowing coach and commentator on BBC television. He studied at the University of Oxford where he represented the Blue boat twice, in 1967 and 1968. In 1977, he won a gold medal at the World Rowing Championships. He coached the Oxford University Boat Club crew on fifteen occasions, leading them to victory twelve times, including a ten-win streak. He also coached British squads at two separate Olympic Games. After retiring from coaching he commentated on rowing at the Olympic Games and Boat Races.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hampton School Boat Club</span> British rowing club

Hampton School Boat Club (HSBC) is the rowing club of Hampton School. Each year the club produces 1st VIIIs that compete at Championship level in the United Kingdom. The club hosts two Head race events each year.

Gregory Mark Pascoe Searle is a British Olympic rower educated at Hampton School and London South Bank University.

Martin Patrick Cross is a British retired oarsman, and current teacher.

Jonathan "Jonny" William C. Searle is a British former Olympic rower and subsequently businessman. Along with his brother Greg and coxswain Garry Herbert, Searle won the gold medal in the coxed pair event at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Molesey Boat Club</span>

Molesey Boat Club is a rowing club between Molesey Lock and Sunbury Lock on the River Thames in England. The club was founded in 1866 where its boathouse stands with hardstanding next to the Thames Path.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robin Bourne-Taylor</span> British Army officer and rower

Robin Edwin Geoffrey Bourne-Taylor, CGC is a former British officer and sportsman. He is a three times Boat Race winner, and for his service in Afghanistan he was awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alistair Potts</span>

Alistair James Potts is a former British World Champion cox.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom James (rower)</span> British Olympic rower

Thomas James MBE is a British rower, twice Olympic champion and victorious Cambridge Blue. In a British coxless four in 2012 he set a world's best time which still stood as of 2021.

Ann, Lady Redgrave is a British surgeon and osteopath and former rower.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of London Boat Club</span> British rowing club

University of London Boat Club is the rowing club for the University of London and its member institutions, many of which also have their own boat clubs. The club has its boathouse on the Thames in Chiswick, London, UK. It is a designated High-Performance Programme funded by British Rowing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walton Rowing Club</span>

Walton Rowing Club is an amateur rowing club, on the River Thames in England. Its large, modern, combined club and boat house is on the Surrey bank of the Thames, facing the Walton Mile straight, at Walton-on-Thames about 400 metres (1,300 ft) above Sunbury Lock cut. The club organises several rowing events, and members have competed at international level.

Robert Morgan is a retired Welsh diver, who competing for Wales and Great Britain is best known for winning a bronze and a silver medal in the men's 10 m platform at the European Championships in the early 1990s, and the first Welsh diver to win gold at the Commonwealth Games.

Miriam Luke is a former British rower who competed at three Olympic Games and winning a silver medal in 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben Hunt-Davis</span> British rower

(Francis) Benedict Hunt-DavisMBE is a former British competition rower and an Olympic champion. He was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 2001 New Year Honours list.

Sarah Katharine Winckless is a British former rower. She won a bronze medal in Double sculls with her partner Elise Laverick at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, and was twice world champion, in 2005 and 2006.

Peter Moir Haining is a Scottish-born rower and three-time World Lightweight Sculling Champion who competed for Great Britain and England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reading University Boat Club</span>

Reading University Boat Club is the rowing club for the University of Reading in the United Kingdom. It is based at a boat house in Christchurch Meadows on the River Thames in the Reading suburb of Caversham. The club has a focus on sculling. It has consistently been one of the more successful university rowing clubs in Britain, including topping the medal table at the BUCS regatta in 2011 and at the BUCS small boats head in 2014 and 2015, as well as wins at Henley Royal Regatta in 1986, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2013, and is considered one of the top six university rowing clubs in the UK. A number of former members have competed at the Olympics, including double gold-medallists James Cracknell and Helen Glover. The club has organised the Reading University Head of the River race since 1935.

Harry Brightmore is a British rowing coxswain. He is an Olympic and two-time world champion.

References

  1. 1 2 Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Jim Walker Olympic Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  2. World Rowing website: Athlete Profiles "Jim Walker" accessed 21 July 2024
  3. King's School Chester 'Herald' newsletter "Elite Olympians past and present (page 8)" 2012
  4. University of London Boat Club web site "UL Grand Winners and Olympians to row over at HRR" 29 June 2017
  5. Wikipedia "Stewards' Challenge Cup"
  6. Gibson, Owen (24 July 2012). "London 2012: how Team GB's fortunes turned around after disaster in Atlanta". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  7. Duncan, John (15 November 1996). "Redgrave warns on £40m hold-up (archived from original)". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  8. Will Buckley, "Missing the Boat to Sydney" The Observer, 10 September 2000
  9. 1 2 3 LinkedIn profile "Jim Walker" retrieved July 2024
  10. 1 2 Sir Richard Branson, "Low Carbon Innovation and Leadership" Virgin Group website, April 2014, archived from the original
  11. "The Climate Group". 21 October 2004. Archived from the original on 21 October 2004. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  12. Steve Howard, "Profiles of Paris: Helping business be a force for good" We Mean Business website, June 2018
  13. Postcode Lottery website interview with Jim Walker, September 2017, accessed July 2024
  14. World Rowing web site "Where are they now: Jim Walker" December 2022