Nigel Walker (athlete)

For the former professional footballer, see Nigel Walker (footballer). For the criminologist, see Nigel Walker (criminologist).

Nigel Walker
Birth nameNigel Walker
Date of birth (1963-06-15) 15 June 1963 (age 61)
Place of birthCardiff, Wales
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight79 kg (12 st 6 lb)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Wing
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
1992-1998 Cardiff 121 (392)
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
1993-1998 Wales 17 (60)

Nigel Walker (born 15 June 1963) is a former Welsh track and field athlete and Wales international rugby union player. He is currently Welsh Rugby Union's acting CEO, after the resignation of Steve Phillips.[1] He was born in Cardiff.

Walker represented Great Britain and Northern Ireland at the 1984 Summer Olympics in the 110 metres hurdles. In 1992 however, he failed to make the squad for the 1992 Summer Olympics and turned to rugby union. Walker holds the fastest non-winning time for the 200-metre hurdles. At Cardiff in 1991, he ran 22.77 seconds into a 0.3 m/

As a rugby player, he played on the wing for Cardiff RFC. Walker made his Wales debut on 6 March 1993 in the five nations match against Ireland. He went on to win 17 caps for Wales, scoring 12 tries and making his final appearance 21 February 1998 against England.

Walker was a participant in Catchphrase, a Welsh learning programme broadcast on Radio Wales in 2000.[2] Walker was appointed Head of Sport at BBC Wales in 2001.[3] In 2010, Walker became the National Director at the English Institute of Sport (EIS).[4] In 2018, celebrating Black History Month in the United Kingdom, Walker was included in a list of 100 "Brilliant, Black and Welsh" people.[5]

Walker left his role at the EIS in Autumn 2021,[6] to take up the position of Performance Director at the Welsh Rugby Union.[7] He became the acting CEO of the WRU in January 2023 following the resignation of Steve Phillips.[8]

Contrary to a frequent rumour, he did not participate in Gladiators. Walker dispelled the rumour: "I didn’t compete in Gladiators. It’s a big myth. Glen Webbe did, I didn’t. I have corrected it on Wikipedia three times and it keeps coming back up".[9]

  1. ^ "Nigel Walker at EIS".
  2. ^ "Catchphrase at BBC Wales".
  3. ^ "Walker to lead BBC Wales Sport". BBC Sport. 13 July 2001. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  4. ^ "Interview: Nigel Walker". sportsmanagement.co.uk. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  5. ^ Wightwick, Abbie (28 September 2018). "Brilliant, Black and Welsh: A celebration of 100 African Caribbean and African Welsh people". WalesOnline. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  6. ^ "Nigel Walker OBE to depart the EIS after 11 trailblazing years". EIS. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  7. ^ "WRU appoints former Wales wing Nigel Walker as performance director". Rugbypass. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  8. ^ "WRU chief Phillips resigns as Walker steps in". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  9. ^ Thomas, Simon (5 August 2018). "The extraordinary Nigel Walker interview". WalesOnline. Retrieved 30 August 2021.