Arthur Franklin Walker (born 9 September 1941) is a retired American

triple jump The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to the long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down th ...

er, who participated at the Olympic Games in

Mexico 1968 The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...

and

Munich 1972 The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

. He was the best American triple jumper in the end of the 1960s, won four consecutive

Mt. San Antonio College Mt. San Antonio College (Mt. SAC) is a public community college in southern California, located in Walnut in eastern Los Angeles County. It offers more than 260 degree and certificate programs, 25 support programs, and more than 50 studen ...

titles (from 1965 to 1968), three national titles (1965, 1966, and 1968), and one indoor national title in 1967. He took part at the 1965 Summer Universiade in Budapest, ending at 5th place. Art Walker improved for three times the US record of triple jump, increasing it by more than one foot compared to the previous record. After winning three national championships, he lost by a whisker the bronze medal in the exciting triple jump event at 1968 Olympics in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

, where despite a jump of - up to two days before the world record stood to - he ended only at the fourth place, behind the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

jumper

Giuseppe Gentile Giuseppe Gentile (born 4 September 1943) is a retired Italian triple jumper, who won a bronze medal at the 1968 Summer Olympics. Biography From 1962 to 1972 Gentile took part in 33 international competitions, including the 1968 and 1972 Summer ...

. He took part also at the 1972 Summer Olympics in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

, ending at 29th place.

References

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* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Arthur 1941 births Living people American male triple jumpers Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics Olympic track and field athletes for the United States Track and field athletes from Georgia (U.S. state)