Shaq Walker of the Brooks Beasts retires from competitive running...
According to a post on media partner Flotrack, Shaq Walker of the Brooks Beasts (left/photo by Paul Merca) has retired from the sport, and has returned to Utah to finish his undergraduate degree with a goal to enter dental school the following year.
After finishing third at the NCAA championships in the 800 in 2016, Walker, who had one year of eligibility left at BYU, opted to turn pro and join the Seattle based Brooks Beasts, whose kit he donned for the first time at the US Olympic Track & Field Trials in Eugene.
In his Brooks Beasts debut, Walker made it to the semis in the Trials 800, then made contact over the final 50 meters with Ole Miss’ Craig Engles, causing him to lose momentum and didn’t qualify for the finals.
Last year, Walker had an external hemorrhoid two weeks before the USATF outdoors in Sacramento that required surgery. With his training interrupted, he only managed to reach the semis.
After the national championships, he ran in the TrackTown Summer Series meets in Gresham, Oregon and in New York. He was supposed to run in Madrid, where he found himself taken out of the A section and relegated to the B section, due to an error between his agent and meet management. Walker earned a #8 ranking from Track & Field News in 2017, the same ranking he earned in 2016. He retires with a personal best of 1:44.99, set in 2016 at the Sun Angel Classic.
Walker leaves the Beasts with two years remaining on his contract. He has had aspirations on becoming a dentist since age 19, a field he feels will give him the stability & freedom to spend more time with his family.
Comments