Shaquille Walker (born February 2, 1993 in

Blue Island, Illinois Blue Island is a city in Cook County, Illinois, located approximately south of Chicago's Loop. Blue Island is adjacent to the city of Chicago and shares its northern boundary with that city's Morgan Park neighborhood. The population was 22,55 ...

) is an American retired track runner competing for the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and a former

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...

track student-athlete.

Prep

Walker is African-American, born in

. His family moved to

Richmond Hill, Georgia Richmond Hill is a city in Bryan County, Georgia. The population was 16,633 at the 2020 U.S. Census, an increase of almost 80% from the 2010 population of 9,281. Richmond Hill is part of the Savannah Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Rich ...

when he was very young. Walker was raised Baptist. He converted to

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

while in high school and served a mission for the church in the

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Walker won 2011

Georgia High School Association The Georgia High School Association (GHSA) is an organization that governs athletics and activities for member high schools in Georgia, USA. GHSA is a member of the National Federation of State High School Associations. The association has 463 pu ...

AAAA state track and field title in 800 meters in a time of 1:53.27. Walker won 2010

AAAA state track and field title in 800 meters in a time of 1:51.71.

NCAA

Walker finished third at the 2016 NCAA Championships. Walker finished third at the 2016 NCAA Indoor Championships. Walker finished fifth at the 2015 NCAA Championships. Walker finished tenth at the 2015 NCAA Indoor Championships. Walker is a three time

Mountain Pacific Sports Federation The Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) is a college athletic conference with members located mostly in the western United States, although it now has members as far east as Pennsylvania. The conference participates at the NCAA Division I ...

track and field champion (Once as a member of the 4 x 400 m relay team). Walker finished his

BYU Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day S ...

career as the school record holder in the indoor 800 meters with a time of 1:46.97, set in 2016. He also was part of the

Distance medley relay The distance medley relay (DMR) is an athletic event in which four athletes compete as part of a relay. With its inclusion in the IAAF World Relays program, the IAAF announced on May 1, 2015 that the event would be an official world record event. ...

(DMR) squad that holds the program record with a time of 9:29.00, set in 2012, and the 4x400 Men's Relay squad that set the school record in 2015 with a 3:07.66 time. As an outdoor track and field athlete, Walker also holds the school record in the 800m with a time of 1:44.99, set in 2016. In 2015, Walker ran a 400m in 46:00 and sits in sixth place in the record books at

. His

4x400-meter relay Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...

squad holds the record with a time of 3:03.82 and the DMR record with a time of 3:14.74, both records set in 2015. Walker qualified to compete in the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials and placed 11th overall with a time of 1:47.93. The Curtis Pugsley Track and Field Award is BYU track and field's highest honor, given each year to one male and one female student athlete. The winners of the 2016 Curtis Pugsley Track and Field Athlete of the Year Award are Shaquille Walker and Shea Collinsworth. Walker placed 17th in 800 meters

2012 World Junior Championships in Athletics The 2012 World Junior Championships in Athletics was an international athletics competition for athletes qualifying as juniors (born 1993 or later) which was held at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, on 10–15 ...

Professional

Walker placed 1st in 800 meters at 2012 USA Junior Outdoor Track and Field Championships in 1:49.39. Walker placed 6th in 800 meters at

2015 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The 2015 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships were held at Hayward Field, University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon. Organized by USA Track and Field, the four-day competition took place June 25–28 and served as the national championships i ...

in 1:46.60. In June 2016, Walker signed a contract with

Brooks Sports Brooks Sports, Inc., also known as Brooks Running, is an American sports equipment company that designs and markets high-performance men's and women's sneakers, clothing, and accessories. Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, Brooks products are ...

to represent their brand as a professional athlete. Walker placed 11th in 800 meters at 2016 United States Olympic Trials (track and field) in 1:47.93. Immediately after the 2016 Olympic Trials, Walke
won the Nick Symmonds Springfield Straight 800m Road Race
where he ra
1:46.54
to break th
world record for the distance on the roads
Walker placed 12th in 800 meters at

2017 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The 2017 USA Track and Field Outdoor Championships were held at Hornet Stadium on the campus of California State University, Sacramento in Sacramento, California. Organized by USA Track & Field, the four-day competition took place June 22–25 an ...

in 1:47.02. In January 2018, FloTrack announced his retirement.

Major competition

In the summer of 2015 Walker received the gold medal in 800 meters at the

2015 Summer Universiade ) , Nations participating = 143 , Athletes participating = 12,885 , Events = 272 in 21 sports , Opening ceremony = , Closing ceremony = , Officially opened by = Park Geun-hye , Athlete's Oath = Kim Seong-yeon and Kim Kuk-young , Judge's Oath = ...

References

Sources

Robinson, Doug. " LDS convert, BYU star Shaquille Walker is a secret no more", ''Deseret News'', Feb. 11, 2015
*[http://savannahnow.com/bryan-county-now-sports/2016-07-03/shaquille-walker-was-not-disqualified-olympic-trials Jamie Parker- "Shaquille Walker was not disqualified from Olympic Trials", ''Savannah Now'', July 3, 2016]
BYU athletics profileJuly 8, 2016 ''Salt Lake Tribune'' article on WalkerShaquille Walker Athlete Biz profile
* * *
Shaquille Walker All-Athletics profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Shaquille 1993 births African-American Latter Day Saints Living people American Mormon missionaries in England Converts to Mormonism from Baptist denominations American male middle-distance runners BYU Cougars men's track and field athletes Sportspeople from Illinois Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Latter Day Saints from Georgia (U.S. state) FISU World University Games gold medalists for the United States Medalists at the 2015 Summer Universiade