Chris Walker-Hebborn

Chris Walker-Hebborn
Personal information
Surname:	Chris Walker-Hebborn
Nation:	United Kingdom
Swimming style (s) :	move
Society:	Team Bath, Ipswich SC
College team:	Ellesmere College Titans
Birthday:	July 1, 1990
Place of birth:	Enfield , London
Size:	1.84 m
Weight:	80 kg
Medal table

Christopher James "Chris" Walker-Hebborn (born July 1, 1990 in Enfield , London ) is a British swimmer . He mainly starts in the backstroke as well as in freestyle and medley relays .

Career

Chris Walker-Hebborn celebrated his first international successes in 2008 when he won bronze over 100 m backstroke at the Junior World Championships in Monterrey and two gold medals in relay competitions, as well as four gold medals at the Junior European Championships in Belgrade . A year later he was the first British champion in the 200 m back and qualified for the swimming world championships in Rome in 2009 , where he was eliminated in the semifinals in ninth place. At the Commonwealth Games 2010 he just missed a medal in the 200 m back as fourth. In 2011 he was able to qualify for the World Championship again , but did not survive the prelims over 100 or 200 m back. Even at the short-course European championships 2011 , he did not get beyond the heats in his individual starts. With the British relays over 4 × 50 m freestyle and individual medley, he was seventh and fifth. In 2012 he took part in the Olympic Games in his hometown of London, but retired again in his two starts over 100 m back and 200 m back in the heats. He took part in the short course world championships in 2012 , where his best placement was 7th place in the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay.

At the 2013 World Swimming Championships in Barcelona , Walker-Hebborn reached the semi-finals over 100 and 200 m backs. At the end of 2013, at the European Short Course Championships in Herning, he won silver over 100 m back, his first medal at a major international event in the senior sector. The originally second-placed Russian Vitali Melnikow was disqualified for doping . With the mixed relay over 4 × 50 m individualities, he came fifth.

2014 was the most successful year of his career to date. At the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow , he won gold over 100 m backs and was fourth over 50 m backs. He won a second gold medal with the relay over 4 × 100 m individual medley. For the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay, which won bronze, he was used in the run-up. A few weeks later he became European champion over 100 m backseat at the European championships in Berlin as well as with the relays over 4 × 100 m positions of men and in mixed. He also won bronze over the 50 m back. At the 2014 Short Course World Championships in Doha , he won silver in the mixed relay over 4 × 50 m individual medley. In the men's relay over 4 × 50 m and 4 × 100 m individual medley he was fifth, in the individual over 50 m back seventh.

Walker-Hebborn (2nd from left) at the 2015 Mixed Relay World Championships award ceremony

At the 2015 World Swimming Championships in Kazan , he reached the finals over 100 m back and was fifth. With the mixed relay over 4 × 100 m individualities, he became world champion in a new world record time; with the men's relay, he narrowly missed a medal in fourth. At the 2015 European Short Course Championships , he won silver over 50 and bronze over 100 m back. In 2016, Walker-Hebborn was two-time European champion in London with the relays in the men's 4 × 100 m freestyle and mixed. In his two individual starts over 50 and 100 m back he was eliminated in the semifinals.

Walker-Hebborn is multiple British backstroke champion. He is in a relationship with his teammate Siobhan-Marie O'Connor and trains in Bath with Dave McNulty and Graeme Antwhistle.

Best times and records

Personal bests
discipline	Long track			Short course
50 m back	00: 24.92 min	July 26, 2014	Glasgow	BR 00: 23.09 min	December 6, 2015	Netanya
		April 15, 2015	London
100 m back	00: 52.88 min	April 14, 2015	London	00: 50.35 min	4th December 2015	Netanya
200 m back	01: 56.05 min	July 30, 2009	Rome	BR 01: 50.73 min	August 6, 2009	Leeds
World record
4 × 100 m layers mixed long course (with Adam Peaty , Siobhan-Marie O'Connor and Francesca Halsall )				03: 41.71 min	5th August 2015	Kazan
European record
4 × 50 m mixed layers short course (with Adam Peaty , Siobhan-Marie O'Connor and Francesca Halsall )				01: 37.46 min	4th December 2014	Doha
BR = British record; As of July 30, 2016

Web links

• Chris Walker-Hebborn in the database of Swimrankings.net (English)
• Chris Walker-Hebborn in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )
• Profile at British Swimming (English)
• Best times at swimmingresults.org (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ FINA Doping Panel 10/14 fina.org August 25, 2016
2. ↑ Neil Rose: Glasgow 2014: "We're like the golden couple" - Chris Walker-Hebborn and girlfriend Siobhan-Marie O'Connor celebrate swimming success. (No longer available online.) Bath Chronicle, July 31, 2014, archived from the original on December 26, 2015 ; accessed on July 30, 2016 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.