Black History Month is an annual observance of important people and events relating to black people. The event began in the US in 1976 and was established in the UK in 1987. Black History Month is also observed in Canada and the Netherlands. The British Wrestling Association are acknowledging Black History Month by highlighting the achievements of two of our black Olympians.
Fitzlloyd Walker
Politics was a place where race was hotly contested in the 1980s, however, sport has a way of unifying discord in some parts of society. The wrestling mat was a place where the playing was levelled and one wrestler who can attest to this is Fitzlloyd ‘Fitz’ Walker.
 Image Credit: The Y Club Manchester |
 Image Credit: The Y Club Manchester |
 Image Credit: The Y Club Manchester |
Fitz Walker was the first black wrestler to represent Great Britain at the Olympic Games. He competed at the 1980, 1984 and 1988 Summer Olympics and represented England at the 1982 and 1986 Commonwealth Games.
While training in England, Fitz’s team of coaches recognised his talent and contacted the Commonwealth organising committee in Jamaica to help him earn a place at the Commonwealth Games. He represented Jamaica in the 1978 Commonwealth Games but by 1980, was representing Great Britain at the Summer Olympic Games in Moscow.
Fitz is also in the Guinness World Book of Records for winning the British Wrestling Championships 14 years in a row.
During Fitz’s career, he remembers simply wanting to wrestle and doesn’t recall any negative experiences from wrestling in England. He admits, though, that this was due to the support of other wrestlers and coaches who shielded him from things that were outside of his control and gave him the space to focus on wrestling. ‘I had a good experience because I had a good team of people supporting me and I was given very good advice from the start: never be late for training sessions, always return letters and do your best’.
In his travels, Fitz sometimes found that the way he was treated at airports was different to the way other members of his team were treated.
Fitz Walker: ‘Getting into Russia, everyone else went through but I had to wait to be spoken to. Coming back into England from a competition was sometimes a bigger problem’. However, Fitz refused to dwell on it and instead focus on the things within his control. ‘It’s just how our society was at the time. I knew I was going places and I knew I had to rise above that’.
Noel Loban
Although Noel’s journey to representing Great Britain internationally took a different geographical route than Fitz, his experiences on the mat were similar.
‘Wrestling is a sport that separates the men from the boys. You’ve worked hard and sacrificed so there’s an instant fraternity with everyone inside the sport. You may not like each other where the competition is concerned but after the match there is a certain respect.
Noel Loban is Britain’s first black wrestler to medal at the Olympic Games. Noel won a bronze medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics, gold in the 1986 Commonwealth Games and bronze at the 1994 Commonwealth Games.
Source: Unkown
Noel was born in London and migrated to America as a child. While in America, Noel turned to sports to help mitigate the impact of a tumultuous childhood. Following a mediocre start to his collegiate wrestling career, Noel quickly improved and soon earned a spot as co-captain of the team and went on to eventually win the 1980 NCAA National Championships. Despite his success in America, he was denied an opportunity to try out for a place on the GB Olympic team in that year. Two years later, however, he managed to earn a place on the team and went on to win bronze in the 1984 Olympics. Before retiring from competition, he competed in the Bundesliga for 3 years.
Both athletes acknowledge the discrimination that was prevalent in society at the time, but they don’t speak of it with any bitterness or defeat. The underlying theme from these personal accounts is that during a time when society was adapting to an ever–changing cultural landscape, wrestling was, in many respects, a force for good.
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Black History Month is an annual observance of important people and events relating to black people. The event began in the US in 1976 and was established in the UK in 1987. Black History Month is also observed in Canada and the Netherlands. The British Wrestling Association are acknowledging Black History Month by highlighting the achievements of two of our black Olympians.
Fitzlloyd Walker
Politics was a place where race was hotly contested in the 1980s, however, sport has a way of unifying discord in some parts of society. The wrestling mat was a place where the playing was levelled and one wrestler who can attest to this is Fitzlloyd ‘Fitz’ Walker.
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Image Credit: The Y Club Manchester |
Image Credit: The Y Club Manchester |
Image Credit: The Y Club Manchester |
Fitz Walker was the first black wrestler to represent Great Britain at the Olympic Games. He competed at the 1980, 1984 and 1988 Summer Olympics and represented England at the 1982 and 1986 Commonwealth Games.
While training in England, Fitz’s team of coaches recognised his talent and contacted the Commonwealth organising committee in Jamaica to help him earn a place at the Commonwealth Games. He represented Jamaica in the 1978 Commonwealth Games but by 1980, was representing Great Britain at the Summer Olympic Games in Moscow.
Fitz is also in the Guinness World Book of Records for winning the British Wrestling Championships 14 years in a row.
During Fitz’s career, he remembers simply wanting to wrestle and doesn’t recall any negative experiences from wrestling in England. He admits, though, that this was due to the support of other wrestlers and coaches who shielded him from things that were outside of his control and gave him the space to focus on wrestling. ‘I had a good experience because I had a good team of people supporting me and I was given very good advice from the start: never be late for training sessions, always return letters and do your best’.
In his travels, Fitz sometimes found that the way he was treated at airports was different to the way other members of his team were treated.
Fitz Walker: ‘Getting into Russia, everyone else went through but I had to wait to be spoken to. Coming back into England from a competition was sometimes a bigger problem’. However, Fitz refused to dwell on it and instead focus on the things within his control. ‘It’s just how our society was at the time. I knew I was going places and I knew I had to rise above that’.
Noel Loban
Although Noel’s journey to representing Great Britain internationally took a different geographical route than Fitz, his experiences on the mat were similar.
‘Wrestling is a sport that separates the men from the boys. You’ve worked hard and sacrificed so there’s an instant fraternity with everyone inside the sport. You may not like each other where the competition is concerned but after the match there is a certain respect.
Noel Loban is Britain’s first black wrestler to medal at the Olympic Games. Noel won a bronze medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics, gold in the 1986 Commonwealth Games and bronze at the 1994 Commonwealth Games.
Source: Unkown
Noel was born in London and migrated to America as a child. While in America, Noel turned to sports to help mitigate the impact of a tumultuous childhood. Following a mediocre start to his collegiate wrestling career, Noel quickly improved and soon earned a spot as co-captain of the team and went on to eventually win the 1980 NCAA National Championships. Despite his success in America, he was denied an opportunity to try out for a place on the GB Olympic team in that year. Two years later, however, he managed to earn a place on the team and went on to win bronze in the 1984 Olympics. Before retiring from competition, he competed in the Bundesliga for 3 years.
Both athletes acknowledge the discrimination that was prevalent in society at the time, but they don’t speak of it with any bitterness or defeat. The underlying theme from these personal accounts is that during a time when society was adapting to an ever–changing cultural landscape, wrestling was, in many respects, a force for good.