LeRoy T. Walker (June 14, 1918 – April 23, 2012) was an American track and field coach and the first African-American president of the

United States Olympic Committee The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) is the National Olympic Committee (NOC) and the National Paralympic Committee (NPC) for the United States. It was founded in 1895 and is headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado ...

. In the 1996 Olympics, Walker was delegated to lead a 10,000 member group of the most talented athletes in the world. His goal was to make sure that American citizens have a feeling of ownership in the program, saying, In 1988 he was elected to the position of Treasurer, one of the four officer positions on the Board of Directors (President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer) for a four year term. Largely on the strength of his performance as Treasurer, he was elected to the position of President for a four year term. He gave up his six figure salary position as the director of sports for the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games to take the unpaid presidency position.

Education and career

Walker received degrees from Benedict College (B.A.) and

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

(M.A.). Walker competed on the football and basketball teams at Benedict, and he also was a national-class sprinter for the track and field team despite Benedict not having a track facility to train on. He received his Ph.D. in

biomechanics Biomechanics is the study of the structure, function and motion of the mechanical aspects of biological systems, at any level from whole organisms to Organ (anatomy), organs, Cell (biology), cells and cell organelles, using the methods of mechani ...

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

. He went back to Benedict College to begin a track and field collegiate coaching career. He received enough sports scholarships to finance his college expenses. In 1945, he became the head coach for the

North Carolina Central University North Carolina Central University (NCCU or NC Central) is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically black university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by James E. Shepard in affiliati ...

track team. He also chaired the physical education and recreation departments. NCCU track and field athletes were all in the Olympic Games between the years 1956 and 1980. When Walker retired in 1986 as North Carolina's chancellor-emeritus, his team won 11 gold medals, 80 were named All-American, and 35 had national championships. In addition to coaching NCCU, he coached track teams from other countries.

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

and

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

in 1960,

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

in 1964,

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

in 1968, and

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

in 1972. The last team he led to the Olympic Games was for the United States in 1976. The team included Caitlyn Jenner (then Bruce) and Edwin Moses. He served as the honorary chair of the Board of Directors of the Africa News Service, based in Durham North Carolina.

Personal life

He had a daughter, Dr. Carolyn Walker Hopp, and a son, LeRoy T. Walker Jr. His home was in Durham, NC. Katherine, his wife, died in 1978. Walker was a member of

Omega Psi Phi Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. () is a List of African-American fraternities, historically African-American Fraternities and sororities, fraternity. It was founded on November 17, 1911 at Howard University. Omega Psi Phi is a founding member of ...

fraternity.

Awards

In 1991 Walker was awarded the Eagle Award from the United States Sports Academy. The Eagle Award is the Academy's highest international honor and was awarded to Walker for his significant contributions to international sport. Walker was recognized as a Main Honoree by the Sesquicentennial Honors Commission at the Durham 150 Closing Ceremony in Durham, NC on November 2, 2019. The posthumous recognition was bestowed upon 29 individuals "whose dedication, accomplishments and passion have helped shape Durham in important ways."

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