Walter Imahara () - Louisiana Athletics Hall of Fame

Walter Imahara

Class:
1960

Imahara was a six-time USA national champion in the 60kg (132-pound) weight class while competing in the press, snatch and clean & jerk. The longtime Baton Rouge resident and businessman won his first titles in 1962 and 1963 while serving in the U.S. Army and then won four consecutive titles from 1965-68 representing the New Orleans Athletic Club. In college, Imahara joined the then-USL weightlifting team and was an All-American when the program won the 1957 NCAA team title – the first-ever for the school. He was the NCAA featherweight champion in 1957, 1959 and 1960 — improving his total each time, lifting a total of 645 pounds in 1957, 695 pounds in 1959 and 725 pounds in 1960 when he was named an All-American and earned “Best Lifter” acclaim.

He was the 1960 Junior National champion and 1967 Pan Am Games gold medalist; he also won eight Southern AAU titles, six Louisiana state titles, two Southern USA championships and was National Masters champion from 1980-2005 before retiring from competition at 68 with hundreds of Masters records while winning 26 consecutive national gold medals.

Imahara is a member of the 2023 class of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.