Robert Van de Walle (born 20 May 1954) is a Belgian judoka. He was the first judoka to ever compete at five Olympics.
He was born in Ostend.
At the 1980 Summer Olympics he won the gold medal in the men's half-heavyweight category and in 1988, at the relatively late age of thirty-four, he won a second medal: a bronze one in the same category. He competed in his fifth and final Olympics in 1992 at age 38, reaching the quarter finals.
He continued competing successfully at the highest level of competition for several years after that. During his career Van de Walle also captured three European titles: in 1980, 1985 and 1986. Together with Ingrid Berghmans he was the face of Belgian judo in the late 1970s and 1980s.
Read more about Robert Van De Walle: Bibliography
Famous quotes containing the word van:
“I can’t work without a model. I won’t say I turn my back on nature ruthlessly in order to turn a study into a picture, arranging the colors, enlarging and simplifying; but in the matter of form I am too afraid of departing from the possible and the true.”
—Vincent Van Gogh (1853–1890)