Walter Wu (born 14 August 1972) is an S13 classified Canadian swimmer who has competed and set records at the 1996, 2000, and 2004 Summer Paralympics. He won 14 Paralympic medals before retiring in 2004 after the Athens Paralympic Games. His accolades included selection as torch bearer, member of the

Terry Fox Hall of Fame The Canadian Disability Hall of Fame (formerly the Terry Fox Hall of Fame), recognizes "outstanding Canadians who have made extraordinary contributions to enriching the quality of life for people with physical disabilities". It is run by the Canadi ...

, and BC Disabled Athlete of the Year. He has spent time as a public speaker to local schools since retirement from active sports competition.

Personal life

Walter Wu was born on 14 August 1972 in

Richmond, British Columbia Richmond is a city in the coastal Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Mainly a suburban city, it occupies almost the entirety of Lulu Island (excluding Queensborough, New Westminster, Queensborough), between the two estuarine dis ...

. He is classified as S13 because of

optic nerve In neuroanatomy, the optic nerve, also known as the second cranial nerve, cranial nerve II, or simply CN II, is a paired cranial nerve that transmits visual system, visual information from the retina to the brain. In humans, the optic nerve i ...

dysfunction, meaning that he is considered to be legally blind. At the age of eight, he moved to

where he still resides today. After trying a variety of sports, Wu finally settled with swimming. He wanted to swim "because it was an individual sport; if you fail it's because of yourself; if you excel it's because of yourself" Wu said. Since retiring from competition in 2004, Wu has given a speech at a local school part of the RCMP's Sports Event which brings athletes to schools to give inspiration. Wu also has a part-time job at

Home Depot The Home Depot, Inc., often referred to as Home Depot, is an American multinational corporation, multinational home improvement retail corporation that sells tools, construction products, appliances, and services, including fuel and transportat ...

which he has been sponsored. He worked three years in the phone centre and has been doing shipping and receiving work since 2004. He won the BC Disabled Athlete of the Year, was featured in the

and was a torchbearer at the

2010 Winter Paralympics The 2010 Winter Paralympics (), or the tenth Paralympic Winter Games, were held in Vancouver and Whistler, British Columbia, Canada, from March 12 to 21, 2010. The opening ceremony took place in BC Place Stadium in Vancouver and the Closing ...

. He added that "He is humbled and proud of that honour as well."

Career

Walter Wu is a S13 classified swimmer. He competed in three Paralympic Games, retiring after the 2004 Athens Games. He said, "I miss competing, traveling and making international friends, but I don't miss the grueling training."

1996 Paralympics

At the age of 24, Wu won six gold and one bronze medals, breaking two World Records and two Paralympic Records, and becoming Canada's most decorated athlete of the games. He set the world records in the 200-metre

individual medley Medley swimming is a combination of four different swimming strokes ( freestyle (usually front crawl), backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly) into one race. This race is either swum by one swimmer as individual medley (IM) or by four swimmers as ...

(2:19.83) and 100-metre

backstroke Backstroke or back crawl is one of the four Swimming (sport), swimming styles used in competitive events regulated by FINA, and the only one of these styles swum on the back. This swimming style has the advantage of easy breathing, but the disa ...

(1:05.55). After he won, he said, "That was an incredible feeling. It's not quite the rush of riding on a roller coaster, but standing on the podium when they play the national anthem chokes you up. It makes you proud that the hard work has paid off."

2000 Paralympics

A shoulder injury of his right shoulder caused Wu trouble in early 2000, three months before the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games. Wu's coach, Craig McCord, played a key role in Wu's return to form. Wu said, "In some ways I think he has more confidence in me that I have... He was always under the impression I was going to do well at the Olympic trials and time-wise it was one of my best events ever." After being selected to compete at the 2000 Paralympic Games, Wu won five medals in Sydney, including golds in the 100m backstroke and the 100m

butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

, silvers in the 400m

freestyle Freestyle may refer to: Brands * Reebok Freestyle, a women's athletic shoe * Ford Freestyle, an SUV automobile * Coca-Cola Freestyle, a vending machine * Abbott FreeStyle, a blood glucose monitor by Abbott Laboritories Media * '' FreeStyle'', ...

and the 200m individual medley, and a bronze in the 100m freestyle.

2004 Paralympics

Still suffering from another shoulder injury that occurred in 2003, Wu was not expected to compete in the 400m freestyle, but he made the decision to participate, telling his coach, "if I have to go to hospital to win this race, I am willing to do it." He ended up winning the gold medal, coming first. He did not need to go to the hospital but did require medical treatment for 25 minutes after he finished. Other than his gold medal, he also won two more silver medals in 100m backstroke and 200m individual medley.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wu, Walter 1972 births Paralympic swimmers for Canada Living people Medalists at the 1996 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2000 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Paralympic gold medalists for Canada Paralympic silver medalists for Canada Paralympic bronze medalists for Canada Swimmers at the 1996 Summer Paralympics Swimmers at the 2000 Summer Paralympics Swimmers at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Canadian Disability Hall of Fame Canadian sportspeople of Chinese descent Paralympic medalists in swimming Canadian male freestyle swimmers Canadian male backstroke swimmers Canadian male breaststroke swimmers Canadian male butterfly swimmers Canadian male medley swimmers S13-classified para swimmers