Walter Imahara

Sport: Weightlifting

Induction Year: 2023

University: UL-Lafayette

A member of the UL Athletics Hall of Fame and Louisiana Weightlifting Hall of Fame, 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. … Prior to him competing for the U.S. in international competitions, Imahara’s parents owned a 60-acre farm in California that produced table grapes and strawberries before they decided to go into the chicken business. … Their business went under, however, with the start of World War II and his family was forced after Pearl Harbor to go to an internment camp, where they remained for four months. … Later, Imahara became the first Asian to attend UL (then Southwestern Louisiana Institute), in the mid-1950s and graduated in 1960 with a degree in horticulture. … Imahara joined the SLI weightlifting team and was an All-American when the program won the 1957 NCAA team title – the first-ever for the school – and was nicknamed the “Asian-Cajun” by the university president. … 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. … Born 2-14-1937 in Sacramento, Calif.