# Erick Walder

Erick Walder (born November 5, 1971, in Mobile, Alabama) is an American former long jumper. He was a silver medalist at the 1997 World Championships in Athletics and twice bronze medallist at the IAAF World Indoor Championships (1995, 1999). He also took two silver medals at the Goodwill Games (1994, 1998).
His personal best was 8.74 meters, achieved in April 1994 in El Paso. He ranked number one in the world on performance in the 1994 and 1996 seasons.

## Collegiate career

Walder competed collegiately for the long jump/triple jump juggernaut University of Arkansas where he won 10 NCAA long jump and triple jump titles, indoor and outdoor. He still holds the collegiate outdoor long jump record with a leap of 28 feet 8.25 inches (8.7440 meters). Walder was inducted into The University of Arkansas Hall of Fame in 2010.
Walder claimed the NCAA outdoor and indoor long jumps and the indoor triple jump titles in 1992, 1993 and 1994, and added the outdoor triple jump win to sweep the 1994 NCAA meets:
| Event | Years won |
| NCAA Indoor Triple Jump | 1992, 1993, 1994 |
| NCAA Indoor Long Jump | 1992, 1993, 1994 |
| NCAA Outdoor Triple Jump | 1994 |
| NCAA Outdoor Long Jump | 1992, 1993, 1994 |
Walder finished 3rd in the triple jump at the 1993 NCAA Outdoor Championships.

## International competitions

| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
| Representing the United States ||||||
| 1990 | World Junior Championships | Plovdiv, Bulgaria | 15th | Triple jump | 15.00 m (wind: -0.8 m/s) |
| 1993 | World Championships | Stuttgart, Germany | 4th | Long jump | 8.05 m |
| 1994 | Goodwill Games | St. Petersburg, Russia | 2nd | Long jump | 8.39 m |
| 1995 | World Indoor Championships | Barcelona, Spain | 3rd | Long jump | 8.14 m |
| 1997 | World Indoor Championships | Paris, France | 4th | Long jump | 8.24 m |
| 1997 | World Championships | Athens, Greece | 2nd | Long jump | 8.38 m |
| 1997 | IAAF Grand Prix Final | Fukuoka, Japan | 3rd | Long jump | 8.40 m w |
| 1998 | Goodwill Games | Uniondale, United States | 2nd | Long jump | 8.38 m |
| 1999 | World Indoor Championships | Maebashi, Japan | 3rd | Long jump | 8.30 m |

## Rankings

Walder was ranked in the top ten long jumpers in the world by Track and Field News for eight consecutive years and as the best long jumper in the US three times.
| Year | LJ world rank | LJ US rank | TJ US rank |
| 1992 | 6th | 4th | - |
| 1993 | 3rd | 2nd | 5th |
| 1994 | 3rd | 3rd | 3rd |
| 1995 | 8th | 6th | - |
| 1996 | 6th | 4th | 6th |
| 1997 | 3rd | 1st | - |
| 1998 | 2nd | 1st | - |
| 1999 | 4th | 1st | - |
| 2000 | - | 6th | - |

## Drug issues

In 2004, Walder tested positive for a legal medication that is banned by USATF. The sample was delivered on June 5, 2004, at the IAAF Adidas Oregon Track Classic. He received an IAAF suspension from October 2004 to October 2006. Walder was reinstated in 2007. He competed professionally for two years before his retirement in 2010.

## Personal life

In April 2014, Walder married Denise Chandler, a chiropractor. They reside with their son, EJ in Fayetteville. He has another son, Trenton Walder, who resides in Conway, Arkansas. They divorced in February 2018.