Ron Walker

Ron Walker was regarded as the finest weightlifter in England in the 1930s. Although a heavyweight, he rarely lifted while weighing more than 14 stone and in modern-day weightlifting would compete in the light-heavyweight class. Walker broke 26 British records and, at the 1936 British Championship at London’s Memorial Hall, he set a world record when he lifted 135 kg in the two-handed snatch. He had previously set four Olympic records (two snatch, and two clean & jerk) at the Berlin Games a few months earlier, where he finished fourth. Walker was the lightest of the 13 contestants at the Olympics, and won the snatch element, and was joint second in the clean & jerk. The previous year, 1935, Walker was second in the unlimited class at the European Championships in Paris.

Walker started lifting in 1929 and won his first British title the following year when he captured the middleweight title. In 1931 won the first of six consecutive heavyweight titles. In 1938 Walker established a postal bodybuilding and physical development course via newspapers and fitness and health magazines. After World War II, he continued setting British records, with his last one being in 1947, the year before his untimely death at the age of 40, which came shortly after the end of the London Olympics. At the time of his death Ron Walker was the holder of 21 British records.