Robert Van de Walle

Robert Van de Walle
Van de Walle (2nd left) at the 1980 Olympics
Personal information
Born (1954-05-20) 20 May 1954 (age 70)
Ostend, Belgium
OccupationJudoka
Height1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Sport
CountryBelgium
SportJudo
Weight class–95 kg, Open
Rank     9th dan black belt[1]
ClubCrossing Schaerbeek
Achievements and titles
Olympic GamesGold (1980)
World Champ.Silver (1979, 1981)
European Champ.Gold (1980, 1985, 1986)
Profile at external databases
IJF8904
JudoInside.com4760
Updated on 18 June 2023

Robert Van de Walle (born 20 May 1954) is a retired Belgian judoka. He was the first judoka to ever compete at five Olympics, from 1976 to 1992. Competing in the half-heavyweight category he won the gold medal in 1980 and a bronze in 1988 at the age of 34. Van de Walle won European titles in 1980, 1985 and 1986.[2] Together with Ingrid Berghmans he was the face of Belgian judo in the late 1970s and 1980s. After retiring from competitions he ran a coaching company together with his wife.[3] He was the head of the Belgian delegation at the 2004 Summer Olympics.[4] In summer 2021, 14 years after obtaining the rank of black belt 8th dan; Van De Walle, currently a member of Judo Club Crossing Schaerbeek, accepted his promotion to 9th dan from the International Judo Federation.[5]

  1. ^ "IJF Dan Grades Awardees" (PDF). International Judo Federation. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 February 2023. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
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