Colt Walker (gymnast)

Colt Walker
Personal information
Full nameColt Barrett Walker
Country representedUnited States
BornJune 25, 2001
Austin, Texas, USA
HometownCedar Park, Texas
Height5 ft 4 in (162 cm)
DisciplineMen's artistic gymnastics
LevelSenior elite
Years on national team2017–present (USA)
College teamStanford Cardinal
Head coach(es)Thom Glielmi
Assistant coach(es)Mark Freeman
Medal record
Representing the United States
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Antwerp Team
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 2023 Santiago Team
Silver medal – second place 2023 Santiago Parallel Bars
Pan American Championships
Gold medal – first place 2022 Rio de Janeiro Team
Silver medal – second place 2022 Rio de Janeiro Parallel Bars
Representing the Stanford Cardinal
NCAA Championships
Gold medal – first place 2021 Minneapolis Team
Gold medal – first place 2022 Norman Team
Gold medal – first place 2023 State College Team
Silver medal – second place 2022 Norman Parallel Bars

Colt Barrett Walker (born June 25, 2001) is an American artistic gymnast. He is a member of the United States national gymnastics team and is competes in collegiate gymnastics for Stanford. He was a member of the gold medal winning team at the 2022 Pan American Championships and was the alternate for the bronze medal winning team at the 2023 World Championships. He is the 2019 junior Winter Cup and National Champion.

Personal life

Walker was born in Austin, Texas to Pam and Keith Walker. He has one sibling. He attended Chaparral Star Academy, graduating in 2020.

Gymnastics career

2017–18

Walker competed at the RD761 International Junior Team Cup where he finished fourth on vault and contributed to the USA's third place finish. He competed at the 2017 National Championships in the 15-16 age division; he placed fifth in the all-around and fourth on floor exercise.

In August of 2018, Walker competed at the U.S. National Championships in the junior 15-16 division. He placed ninth in the all-around and won silver on floor exercise and vault and bronze on rings.

2019

Walker competed at the RD761 International Junior Team Cup where he helped the USA win silver. Individually he won silver in the all-around behind Takeru Kitazono and won medals on five of the six apparatuses. Walker next competed at the 2019 Winter Cup where he placed first in the all-around and on vault and third on floor exercise and rings.

In August, Walker competed at the U.S. National Championships in the 17-18 age division. He finished first in the all-around, on vault, and on parallel bars and second on rings and horizontal bar.

2020–21

Walker became age-eligible for senior level competition and competed at the 2020 Winter Cup. He finished 19th in the all-around. Walker did not compete for the rest of the year due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Walker began competing for the Stanford Cardinal men's gymnastics team during the 2020–21 season. He competed at the 2021 NCAA Championships where he helped Stanford defend their team title. At the 2021 U.S. National Championships Walker placed 12th in the all-around but won bronze on the parallel bars behind Yul Moldauer and Shane Wiskus.

2022

Walker placed fifth in the all-around and third on vault at the 2022 Winter Cup. He was selected to compete at the DTB Pokal Mixed Cup in Stuttgart where he competed on floor exercise and vault during the preliminary round, helping the USA qualify into the championship round. The USA clinched first place in this round with his contribution on the parallel bars. At the NCAA Championship Walker helped Stanford defend their national title. Additionally he placed second on parallel bars behind teammate Curran Phillips.

In June Walker was selected to represent the United States at the Pan American Championships alongside Riley Loos, Brody Malone, Yul Moldauer, and Shane Wiskus. On the first day of competition Walker competed on floor exercise, pommel horse, vault, and parallel bars to help qualify the United States in first place to the team final. Individually he won silver on parallel bars behind Moldauer and recorded the fourth highest floor exercise score and fifth highest pommel horse score. During the team final Walker competed on floor exercise, vault, and parallel bars to help the USA win gold ahead of the reigning team champion Brazil.

In late July Walker competed at the U.S. Classic where he placed second in the all-around behind Stanford teammate Malone with a score of 85.264 (83.750 without bonus). Additionally he recorded the highest parallel bars score and second highest vault score. In August Walker competed at the U.S. National Championships where he finished sixth in all-around but recorded the second highest score when removing domestic bonuses. Additionally he finished second on parallel bars and third on vault.

In October Walker was named to the team to compete at the 2022 World Championships alongside Asher Hong, Brody Malone, Stephen Nedoroscik, and Donnell Whittenburg. During qualifications Walker finished fourteenth on parallel bars but did not qualify for the event final. During the team final Walker contributed scores on vault, parallel bars, and horizontal bar towards the USA's fifth place finish.

2023

Walker spent the beginning of 2023 recovering from a bulging disk in his back. He made his debut at the MPSF Championships where he only competed on pommel horse. He scored a 13.900, the fourth highest score on the apparatus, and helped Stanford win the team title. In April Walker competed at the NCAA Championship, once again only competing on pommel horse. He helped Stanford win their fourth consecutive team title. In August Walker competed at the Core Hydration Classic where he competed the all-around for the first time this season. He placed eighth overall.

Walker next competed at the Xfinity National Championships where he placed fourth in the all-around but received the highest two-day all-around score when removing domestic bonuses. The following day he was named as the alternate for the World Championships team and was named to the team to compete at the Pan American Games taking place in late October alongside Donnell Whittenburg, Shane Wiskus (later replaced by Curran Phillips), Stephen Nedoroscik, and Cameron Bock.

At the World Championships Walker was on the competition floor supporting the team during team finals as they won the bronze medal, the USA's first team medal in nine years. As the alternate Walker was also awarded the medal.

At the Pan American Games Walker helped the United States win team gold. Individually he qualified to the rings, parallel bars, and horizontal bar final. On the first day of apparatus finals Walker finished fourth on rings. On the final day of competition he won silver on parallel bars behind compatriot Phillips and placed fifth on horizontal bar.

Competitive history

Year Event Team AA FX PH SR VT PB HB
Junior
2017 RD761 International Junior Team Cup 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 4
U.S. National Championships (15-16) 5 4 7 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 12 9 13
2018 University of Calgary International Cup 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 4 1st place, gold medalist(s) 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Elite Team Cup 1st place, gold medalist(s)
U.S. National Championships (15-16) 9 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 17 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 11 8
2019 RD761 International Junior Team Cup 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Winter Cup 1st place, gold medalist(s) 6 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 6 10
Elite Team Cup 1st place, gold medalist(s)
Berlin International Junior Team Cup 1st place, gold medalist(s) 9 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
U.S. National Championships (17-18) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 4 5 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Senior
2020 Winter Cup 19 19 14 13 4 7 13
2021 NCAA Championships 1st place, gold medalist(s)
U.S. National Championships 12 23 24 11 13 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 15
2022 Winter Cup 5 14 12 11 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 9 8
DTB Pokal Mixed Cup 1st place, gold medalist(s)
MPSF Championships 1st place, gold medalist(s) 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 8
NCAA Championships 1st place, gold medalist(s) 11 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Pan American Championships 1st place, gold medalist(s) 5 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
U.S. Classic 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 5 8 4 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 20
U.S. National Championships 6 4 24 6 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 7
World Championships 5
2023 MPSF Championships 1st place, gold medalist(s) 4
NCAA Championships 1st place, gold medalist(s) 11
U.S. Classic 8 22 6 7 58 35 38
U.S. National Championships 4 14 6 6 4 12
World Championships 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Pan American Games 1st place, gold medalist(s) 4 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 5
  1. Walker was the Team USA alternate