Marcus Cooper Walz

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Cooper and the second or maternal family name is Walz.
Marcus Cooper
Walz (lane 5) in 2014
Personal information
Birth nameMarcus Cooper Walz
NationalityBritish (former)
Spanish (current)
Born (1994-10-03) 3 October 1994 (age 30)[1]
Oxford, England[1]
Height1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight82 kg (181 lb)
Sport
CountrySpain
SportSprint kayak
ClubReial Club Nàutic Portopetro
Medal record
Men's sprint kayak
Representing  Spain
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2016 Rio de Janeiro K-1 1000 m
Silver medal – second place 2020 Tokyo K-4 500 m
Bronze medal – third place 2024 Paris K-4 500 m
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2017 Račice K-2 500 m
Gold medal – first place 2021 Copenhagen K-2 500 m
Gold medal – first place 2022 Dartmouth K-4 500 m
Silver medal – second place 2015 Milan K-2 500 m
Silver medal – second place 2017 Račice K-4 500 m
Silver medal – second place 2018 Montemor-o-Velho K-4 500 m
Silver medal – second place 2019 Szeged K-4 500 m
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Moscow K-1 500 m
European Games
Gold medal – first place 2023 Kraków-Małopolska K-4 500 m
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 2017 Plovdiv K-4 1000 m
Gold medal – first place 2018 Belgrade K-4 500 m
Silver medal – second place 2018 Belgrade K-2 500 m
Mediterranean Games
Gold medal – first place 2018 Tarragona K-2 500 m

Marcus Cooper Walz (born 3 October 1994) is a sprint canoeist. Born in England, he has competed internationally for Spain since the early 2010s. He won the gold medal in the K-1 1000 metres event at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.[2] He won the silver medal in the Men's K-4 500 metres event at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo with Saúl Craviotto, Carlos Arévalo and Rodrigo Germade.

Born in Oxford to an English father and a German mother,[1] the family established in Mallorca when Cooper was 3 months old.[3] Walz became a Spanish national in 2015.[4] On 26 June 2024, the Spanish Olympic Committee selected Cooper, together with the Olympic boat driver Támara Echegoyen, as the flag bearers for París 2024.[5][6]

Cooper competed as Marcus Walz until 2022.[7]

  1. ^ a b c "COOPER Marcus". Paris 2024 Olympics.
  2. ^ "Marcus Walz". Rio 2016 Olympics. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  3. ^ "De Oxford a Mallorca: Marcus Cooper Walz se hace con el oro en la modalidad K1 de 1000 metros". El Español. 16 August 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  4. ^ Mínguez, Jesús (16 August 2016). "Spain's Olympic hero Walz only became 'Spanish' one year ago". Diario AS. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  5. ^ "Marcus Cooper y Támara Echegoyen serán los abanderados de España en París" (in Spanish). El País.com. 26 June 2024. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
  6. ^ "Clasificación y Plazas Olímpicas París 2024 *". CSD – Consejo Superior de Deportes (in European Spanish). Archived from the original on 8 July 2024.
  7. ^ "Marcus Cooper". International Canoe Federation. Retrieved 6 August 2024.