Jack Walter

Jack Walter began to be noticed for his track athletics talents as a high schooler, where he often competed in longer distances. In 1926 he was sixth on the Canadian lists for the mile and was seventh the following year. In 1928 he was at the top of the list for the 1500 metres and was selected to represent Canada at that year’s Amsterdam Olympics, where he was eliminated in round one. He also competed in the 800 metres – not among his specialties – and was again eliminated in the first round. After being in second on the Canadian lists for the three miles in 1929, he rose to the top of the list again in 1930, this time in the one mile, and just missed the podium in fourth in that event at the 1930 British Empire Games.

During much of his career, Walter was a student at Marquette University in Wisconsin, where he captained the varsity track team and helped establish a collegiate relay record. He retired from active competition after 1930 and graduated from Marquette with a law degree in 1933. Having been known from his high school days as an award-winning orator, he first set up practice in Milwaukee, then moved to Sheboygan in 1935, where he spent the rest of his life as a lawyer and community leader. He even made some unsuccessful attempts to enter politics as a Democrat. His brothers Arnold and Pete were also track athletes, with Pete competing in the 1500 metres event in Amsterdam alongside Jack.

Personal Bests: 800 – unknown; 1500 – 4:00.0 (1928).