Athletic greatness comes in all shapes and all sizes.

It doesn't come naturally, but is achieved from hard work, diligence, and adversity along the journey.

There's opportunity, and there's always struggle.

There is triumph and there is defeat.

And there is always a story behind the glory.

A multiple Olympian and world championship medalist native Louisiana and Walter Davis, his star shined brightly for the LSU Tigers.

Of my time at LSU, Walter was one of the top athletes we ever had in our program in any desert.

But Walter was one of those guys.

Man, work ethic.

Well, Grant and he was a champion.

He's he's never changed.

He's still he's still going to smile.

He's still going to handshake.

He's still signing autograph.

For.

Walter Davis, welcome to Natchitoches.

Thanks for having me.

Have a seat.

It will be such a pleasure to get to know you.

Two time Olympian, many times a gold medal winner in track, in the triple jump and long jump.

And yet it almost didn't happen.

I know you wanted to play basketball.

Yeah, yeah.

basketball was my first love, so I thought I always wanted to be a basketball player.

Like when I was in junior high, we had this core group of guys that always played together, and we used to look at the Fab Five.

Now it's like we can be like those guys.

But that didn't happen.

Well, you had a pretty good career in basketball.

I mean, you averaged 15.7 assists.

You played in the high school All-Star Game in Louisiana.

I bet you were the fastest point guard on the court, though.

Yeah, I think I was.

Winning good power explosiveness.

The harder you it was down the Heisman go.

Walter came to a bowl same.

And he was a basketball player.

He was already established as a basketball player a big time his freshman year.

And he wasn't interested.

Explosiveness.

You notice what he's doing.

Stepping out was pushing hard and way back up.

We did three sets of 12 alternating legs.

1995 spring talk to him again and he came in.

He started working out with me after basketball practice.

You know, just trying to get pregnant.

Working with technique.

He led motion.

He started doing some things that, you know, surprising everybody.

He just had this can jump that he would always open a gym.

And we were going there and play.

So he knew he knew I can jump since then.

So when I finally got to high school, he was like, I want you to come off the track and field.

And it just took off from there.

He eventually jumped 50ft in the triple jump, 24ft in the long jump his junior year, and as a result of that is a state champion.

Even when I went to college, I wanted to still try to play basketball.

So when I went to junior college, I tried to play basketball and I got there, but they had too many out of state players.

So he was like, you can't play because you got too many out of state player.

So I stuck with Trey the step.

No, and that's conservative.

So what attracted you to LSU?

I mean, obviously they were at the top of the track world and you helped continue that.

But what were the the parts of your decision at that time coming from junior colleges?

Man the the crazy part is I really wanted to go to Arkansas, but the Arkansas coach was like, you need to come to Arkansas.

I'm a fan of somebody to beat you.

So once he said that, I was like, LSU is where I'm going because they had a good like, Coach boo was a real good coach.

And then they had a couple of people like, I knew a couple guys.

I knew Marcus Thomas was there, trying to Smith was going to be there.

He was a good jumper.

And then I knew they was bringing in some freshmen and some other JuCo transfers.

And my last year was going to be nationals is going to be at LSU.

So I was like, I want stayed here.

I got my Olympic qualifier here.

So I know I was trying to get a national championship as well at LSU.

you know, your events, the triple jump to me in sports is one of the most unique, and quite honestly, beautiful things to see the human body go through that sequence at full speed.

how difficult was it to to actually learn how to triple jump?

Some folks can't even do it, you know, I mean it.

And then at full speed, it's a very graceful thing.

Yeah.

man, my cousin, like my cousin, showed me how to triple jump in sixth grade because he was going to a different school and he was like, man, I got to trade me.

I was like, what event you do?

And he was like, I triple jump.

I was like, what is that?

He starts showing me what it was.

I was like, okay, cool.

But at first I was running down and I was like, I had to think about like, okay, you hop, step, then jump.

I was thinking about it at first, but once I got the hang of it, like I just took off.

Then.

So long jump.

How does it do you good triple jumpers automatically, convert into great long jumpers and vice versa.

No, no, I did a long jump just to get points for the team, but I didn't really like long jump.

Long jump was.

I didn't like it.

I read the triple jump.

The long jump.

Well, long jump like Ju 27ft and a half inch.

I mean, as a career best.

That's pretty good.

Yeah, it's it's pretty good.

But like I said, I just I just did it to get points.

when I, when I went over to Europe, I did it just so, like, just so it could help me for the triple jump, I think long jump help for the triple jump as far as, like just running in and jumping, like I didn't have to think about it in triple jump.

You got to have you got to have like a balance in long jump.

You don't have to have a balance.

You could just be fast and jump.

There were some great jumpers in the SEC at that time.

Arkansas had some great ones.

I think Florida had one, but Arkansas for sure had.

And we had a couple.

Two John Moffatt, who was silver medalist in the long jump, was with us too.

So we had some great, great jumpers.

People don't realize what made the Olympic when he was in junior college.

So he was like one of the first to make these I ever got to meet up close.

Like, this guy who goes, you know what I mean?

So just didn't work out to see what he did.

Davis excelled in the horizontal jumps in his career.

I can remember a time it was it was SEC Championship, but I was standing next to Booboos coaching him.

And you know, they work real hard on checkmarks.

They work real hard on on posture at the board.

They work real hard on penultimate step.

They, they, they train hard to do all of that stuff.

And, Walter had to fire up two fouls.

You only get three jumps to make fun.

He had two fouls.

I mean, they're little fouls now standing next to boo.

And Walter walked up and boots said, listen, just go back to the end of the runway.

I don't care where you go back here.

Go back to the end of the runway.

Run down this runway and jump.

And that's exactly what he did.

Me one.

He's my house.

What?

that's what I'm talking.

But one of his six NCAA titles came in the four by 100 meter relay in 2002.

Walter Davis for LSU runs in lane five, showing a strong work ethic in both disciplines.

What's that?

Got all the hard work done at practice?

What you say, McNair, is what you saw.

I practice and kind of find out what was the fastest guy quality.

So I want to take you back to 2006. your best triple jump ever.

58ft, two inches.

World indoor Championships in Moscow, Russia.

Yeah.

What are your recollections of that?

I remember that, like yesterday.

our flight got in late, our flight got in.

So the competition maybe was like, let's just say a Friday.

And our flight was supposed to get in Tuesday.

We got in like Thursday.

So our flight got in late because I don't I don't remember what happened, but we was late arriving and I was like, man, I'm gonna be jet lag for the competition.

I wasn't right, but I barely made it into the finals that me.

And then that next day, I call coach Booth.

I was like, man, we just got here covered.

And I told him what was going on.

He told me what to do.

And then that when I woke up the next morning, like my body felt great, I did a shake out.

I was running fast.

I was like, this going to be a good day.

It was a good day.

Yeah.

It was.

It was from Leon Bailey, Louisiana to a gold medal championship in Russia.

That's that's a quite a story.

Yeah it is.

I'm still blessed.

Once I got that, that, gold medal, I was like, okay, right now you have to start.

So I started training like I started taking training shoes.

I started eating better.

Like, that's when I started, like, taking it really serious.

Tell me about the journey to be a team member twice of the United States Olympic team.

That's one of the hardest teams to me.

So just making sure I stay focused, I missed I missed a lot of vacations.

I missed a lot of going to parties just so that I could train and and just try to be the best that I can be.

Because if I didn't, if I didn't miss those birthday parties, if I didn't miss vacations, like, I wouldn't have been able to make the Olympic team because that's that's hard teams to make.

Davis participated in the 2000 and 2004 Olympics and made eight World Championship teams, winning gold in both indoor and outdoor events.

I think it's wonderful for a country boy to go to the Olympics twice.

He's an indoor world champion, outdoor world champion, met with the president of the United States.

He was athlete of the year and he's still humble.

I tell water every day I appreciate.

I feel like if you want to watch, I wouldn't be a future Hall of Fame.

So I feel like he drove me to keep going, to keep going and never be satisfied.

I really he's a fine man.

Just had it, had an air about himself.

He's a great tiger.

Was there a most influential person in your life?

either on the athletic side or perhaps something away from track and field?

Yeah, my my parents were like.

They always stressed, like education.

And to be a leader instead of a follower or so.

And I always kept that with me.

And I even instill that in my kids today, like, don't be a follower.

You have to be a leader.

That thing everybody's on this earth, purpose.

So I think my purpose was track and field, and I was able to do a whole bunch with track and field.

I was able to meet my wife in track and field, have kids.

And so I'm cool when I'm cool with my career.

And I bet you my Hall of Famer.

So absolutely show me that.

Show me the opening of that again.

Oh, that is nice.

Yeah.

Congratulations.

I appreciate that.