{{short description|Spanish canoeist (born 1994)}} {{EngvarB|date=June 2024}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}} {{Family name hatnote|Cooper|Walz|lang=Spanish}} {{Infobox sportsperson | name = Marcus Cooper | fullname = | birth_name = Marcus Cooper Walz | image = 2014 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships - Race 120 - K1 M 500 - Semi - Final 2.jpg | imagesize = | caption = Walz (lane 5) in 2014 | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1994|10|3|df=y}}<ref name="Paris">{{Cite web |url=https://olympics.com/en/paris-2024/athlete/marcus-cooper_1954051 |title=COOPER Marcus |work=Paris 2024 Olympics}}</ref> | birth_place = Oxford, England<ref name="Paris"/> | nationality = British<!--by birth--> (former)<br>Spanish (current) | country = Spain | height = 1.86 m | weight = 85 kg | sport = Sprint kayak | club = Reial Club Nàutic Portopetro | show-medals = no | medaltemplates = {{MedalSport|Men's sprint kayak}} {{MedalCountry|{{ESP}}}} {{MedalOlympic}} {{MedalGold|2016 Rio de Janeiro|K-1 1000 m}} {{MedalSilver|2020 Tokyo|K-4 500 m}} {{MedalBronze|2024 Paris|K-4 500 m}} {{MedalComp|World Championships}} {{MedalGold|2017 Račice|K-2 500 m}} {{MedalGold|2021 Copenhagen|K-2 500 m}} {{MedalGold|2022 Dartmouth|K-4 500 m}} {{MedalSilver|2015 Milan|K-2 500 m}} {{MedalSilver|2017 Račice|K-4 500 m}} {{MedalSilver|2018 Montemor-o-Velho|K-4 500 m}} {{MedalSilver|2019 Szeged|K-4 500 m}} {{MedalBronze|2014 Moscow|K-1 500 m}} {{Medal|Competition|European Games}} {{Medal|Gold|2023 Kraków-Małopolska|K-4 500 m}} {{MedalComp|European Championships}} {{MedalGold|2017 Plovdiv|K-4 1000 m}} {{MedalGold|2018 Belgrade|K-4 500 m}} {{MedalSilver|2018 Belgrade|K-2 500 m}} {{MedalCompetition|Mediterranean Games}} {{Medal|Gold|2018 Tarragona|K-2 500 m}} }} '''Marcus Cooper Walz''' (born 3 October 1994) is a sprint canoeist. Born in England, he has competed internationally for Spain since the early 2010s. He won the gold medal in the K-1 1000 metres event at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rio2016.com/es/atleta/marcus-walz |title=Marcus Walz |work=Rio 2016 Olympics |accessdate=17 August 2016 |archive-date=26 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160826214345/https://www.rio2016.com/es/atleta/marcus-walz |url-status=dead}}</ref> He won the silver medal in the Men's K-4 500 metres event at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo with Saúl Craviotto, Carlos Arévalo and Rodrigo Germade.
Born in Oxford to English parents, the family established in Mallorca when Cooper was 3 months old.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.elespanol.com/deportes/juegos-olimpicos/20160816/148235625_0.html |title=De Oxford a Mallorca: Marcus Cooper Walz se hace con el oro en la modalidad K1 de 1000 metros |date=16 August 2016 |publisher=El Español |accessdate=17 August 2016}}</ref> Walz became a Spanish national in 2015.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://en.as.com/en/2016/08/16/other_sports/1471372190_860751.html |title=Spain's Olympic hero Walz only became 'Spanish' one year ago |work=Diario AS |date=16 August 2016 |first=Jesús |last=Mínguez |access-date=6 August 2024}}</ref> On 26 June 2024, the Spanish Olympic Committee selected Cooper, together with the Olympic boat driver Támara Echegoyen, as the flag bearers for París 2024.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://elpais.com/deportes/juegos-olimpicos/2024-06-26/marcus-cooper-y-tamara-echegoyen-seran-los-abanderados-de-espana-en-paris.html |title=Marcus Cooper y Támara Echegoyen serán los abanderados de España en París |publisher=El País.com |language=ES |date=26 June 2024 |access-date=27 June 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.csd.gob.es/es/alta-competicion/juegos-olimpicos-y-paralimpicos/clasificacion-y-plazas-olimpicas-paris-2024 |title=Clasificación y Plazas Olímpicas París 2024 * |website=CSD – Consejo Superior de Deportes |language=es-es |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240708210343/https://www.csd.gob.es/es/alta-competicion/juegos-olimpicos-y-paralimpicos/clasificacion-y-plazas-olimpicas-paris-2024 |archive-date=8 July 2024}}</ref>
Cooper competed as Marcus Walz until 2022.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.canoeicf.com/athlete/marcus-cooper |title=Marcus Cooper |publisher=International Canoe Federation |access-date=6 August 2024}}</ref>
==Major results== ===Olympics=== {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" ! Year !! K-1 1000 !! K-2 500 !! K-4 500 |- | 2016 || {{gold1}} || {{n/a}} || {{n/a}} |- | 2020 || style="background:#fdffe7" | || {{n/a}} || {{silver2}} |- | 2024 || style="background:#fdffe7" | || 4 || {{bronze3}} |} ===World championships=== {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" ! Year !! K-1 500 !! K-2 500 !! K-4 500 |- | 2014 || {{bronze3}} || style="background:#fdffe7" | || {{n/a}} |- | 2015 || style="background:#fdffe7" | || {{silver2}} || {{n/a}} |- | 2017 || style="background:#fdffe7" | || {{gold1}} || {{silver2}} |- | 2018 || style="background:#fdffe7" | || style="background:#fdffe7" | || {{silver2}} |- | 2019 || style="background:#fdffe7" | || style="background:#fdffe7" | || {{silver2}} |- | 2021 || style="background:#fdffe7" | || {{gold1}} || style="background:#fdffe7" | |- | 2022 || 9 || style="background:#fdffe7" | || {{gold1}} |- | 2023 || style="background:#fdffe7" | || style="background:#fdffe7" | || 7 |} ==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{ICF}} *{{Olympics.com profile|marcus-walz}} *{{Olympedia}}
{{Footer Olympic Champions Men K-1 1000 m}} {{Footer World Champions Canoe Sprint K-4 500 m Men}} {{Footer World Champions Canoe Sprint K-2 500 m Men}}
{{s-start}} {{s-sports|oly}} {{succession box | before = Saúl Craviotto<br />Mireia Belmonte | title = Flagbearer for {{ESP}} | with = Támara Echegoyen | years = París 2024 | after = '''''Incumbent''''' }} {{s-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walz, Marcus}} Category:1994 births Category:Living people Category:Sportspeople from Oxford Category:Spanish male canoeists Category:Olympic canoeists for Spain Category:English male canoeists Category:English emigrants to Spain Category:Spanish people of German descent Category:English people of German descent Category:Naturalised citizens of Spain Category:Naturalised sports competitors Category:Olympic gold medalists for Spain Category:Olympic silver medalists for Spain Category:Olympic bronze medalists for Spain Category:Sportspeople from Mallorca Category:Olympic medalists in canoeing Category:ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships medalists in kayak Category:Canoeists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Category:Canoeists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Category:Canoeists at the 2024 Summer Olympics Category:Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Category:Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Category:Medalists at the 2024 Summer Olympics Category:Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Spain Category:Mediterranean Games medalists in canoeing Category:Canoeists at the 2018 Mediterranean Games Category:Canoeists at the 2019 European Games Category:Canoeists at the 2023 European Games Category:Medalists at the 2023 European Games Category:European Games gold medalists for Spain Category:European Games medalists in canoeing Category:21st-century Spanish sportsmen