Matt Walker (swimmer)

Matthew "Matt" Benedict Walker MBE (born 25 April 1978 in Stockport, England)[1] is a British swimmer who has participated in four Paralympic Games, winning eleven medals. He competes in the S7 (butterfly and freestyle), SM7 (medley) and SB7 (breaststroke) classifications.[1][2]

Matt Walker

Matt Walker at the 2009 BT Paralympic World Cup.
Personal information
Full name	Matthew Walker
Nationality	British
Born	(1978-04-25) 25 April 1978 Stockport, England
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Club	Marple[1]
Medal record Men's swimming Event 1st 2nd 3rd Paralympic Games 3 5 4 World Championships 4 3 3 European Championships ? ? ? Representing  Great Britain Paralympic Games 2000 Sydney 4×100 m freestyle – 34 pts 2004 Athens 4×100 m freestyle – 34 pts 2008 Beijing 4×100 m freestyle – 34 pts 2000 Sydney 50 m freestyle – S7 2004 Athens 50 m freestyle – S7 2004 Athens 100 m freestyle – S7 2008 Beijing 50 m freestyle – S7 2008 Beijing 50 m butterfly – S7 2000 Sydney 100 m breaststroke – SB7 2008 Beijing 100 m freestyle – S7 2008 Beijing 200 m ind. medley – SM7 2012 London 50 m freestyle – SM7 IPC World Championships 1998 Christchurch 50 m freestyle S7 2006 Durban 4x100 m medley relay 34pts 2010 Eindhoven 50 m freestyle S7 2013 Montreal 50 m freestyle S7 2002 Mar del Plata 50 m freestyle S7 2002 Mar del Plata 200 m medley SM7 2010 Eindhoven 50 m butterfly S7 2006 Durban 50 m freestyle S7 2006 Durban 100 m freestyle S7 2010 Eindhoven 4x100 m medley relay 34pts IPC European Championships 2009 Reykjavik 50 m freestyle – S7 2009 Reykjavik 100 m freestyle – S7 2009 Reykjavik 50 m butterfly – S7 2009 Reykjavik 4x100m freestyle relay 34pts 2009 Reykjavik 200 m individual medley SM7 2014 Eindhoven 50m freestyle S7 2014 Eindhoven 100m freestyle S7 2014 Eindhoven 4x100m medley 34pts Representing  England Commonwealth Games 2006 Melbourne 50 m freestyle – MD

Career

Walker's first international medal came with a bronze in the 100 m breaststroke at the 1997 European Championships in Spain.[1] Since then he has gone on to win four further European Championship medals and eight World Championship medals.[3] He also won a bronze medal in the 50 m freestyle and finished fourth in the 100 m freestyle,[4] at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, where he was the only disabled swimmer representing England.[5]

Paralympics

Walker competed in the Paralympics for the first time during the 2000 games, in Sydney. In all he took home three medals from these games, a bronze in the 100 m breaststroke SB7, silver in the 50 m freestyle S7 and gold in the 4×100 m freestyle 34 pts.[6] As part of the gold medal winning relay team, which also included Jody Cundy, Giles Long and David Roberts, he set a new world record time of 4:06.85.[1]

In the 2004 Summer Paralympics, in Athens, Walker won a further two individual medals, silvers in both the 50 and 100 m S7 freestyle events. He was again part of the gold medal winning 4×100 m freestyle 34 pts relay team, which also included Roberts, Graham Edmunds and Robert Welbourn, that set a new world record of 3:59.62.[1][7][8]

Beijing 2008 was Walker's third appearance at a Paralympics, and his most successful to date with five medals won.[9] He medalled in both the 50 and 100 m S7 freestyle events, as he had done in Athens, and picked up medals in butterfly and medley events for the first time, winning silver in the 50 m S7 butterfly, with a European record time of 32.24 seconds,[10] and bronze in the 200 m individual medley SM7.[11] Competing alongside David Roberts, Robert Welbourn and Graham Edmunds, Walker won a gold medal in the 4×100 m freestyle 34 pts for the third time in as many Games.[12] This meant that he has now won eleven Paralympic medals, with all of his silver and bronze medals being won individually and all three of his golds being in relay events.[6][11]

Walker was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2009 New Year Honours.[13]

In the 2012 Paralympics, within the S7 category, Walker is participating in the 50m freestyle, 100m freestyle, 50m butterfly.

See also

• List of IPC world records in swimming
• Swimming at the 2000 Summer Paralympics
• Swimming at the 2004 Summer Paralympics
• Swimming at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
• Swimming at the 2012 Summer Paralympics

Notes

1. "Athlete biography". University of Bath website. Retrieved 18 September 2008.
2. "A-Z of Paralympic classification". BBCSport. 28 August 2008. Retrieved 16 September 2008.
3. "British Swimming and the asa: Matthew Walker". British Swimming. Archived from the original on 15 September 2008. Retrieved 19 September 2008.
4. "Commonwealth joy for Welsh pair". BBC Sport. 20 March 2006. Retrieved 19 September 2008.
5. Hudson, Elizabeth (20 December 2005). "Walker set to face Melbourne test". BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 September 2008.
6. Results for Matthew Walker from the International Paralympic Committee (archived)
7. Davies, Gareth (23 September 2004). "Swimmers on crest of a wave". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
8. Hudson, Elizabeth (22 September 2004). "Paralympic diary: Day six". BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
9. "Matt plans to make splash in London". Manchester Evening News. 15 September 2008. Retrieved 19 September 2008.
10. "Swimmer Walker wins silver medal". BBC Sport. 13 September 2008. Retrieved 19 September 2008.
11. "Medallists GBR – Great Britain". The Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Archived from the original on 19 September 2008. Retrieved 18 September 2008.
12. "Frederiksen leads swimming charge". BBC Sport. 10 September 2008. Retrieved 18 September 2008.
13. "No. 58929". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2008. p. 23.

External links

• British Swimming athlete biography
• Matt Walker personal website