Olympic gold for Mallorcan canoeist

Spain is currently sitting in fourteenth position in the Rio Olympics medal table with four gold medals, one silver and two bronze. One of those gold medals comes courtesy of Mallorcan resident Marcus Cooper Walz.

The British-born athlete took the gold medal on Tuesday 16th August in the men's canoe sprint k1. Born in Oxford in 1985 to a German mother and British father, the family relocated to Mallorca when Marcus was only three years old. Despite his heritage, he says that "in his heart he feels Spanish".

Under the legislation of the International Canoe Federation, Walz has been competing for his country of Spain for many years, however, Olympic rules state that you must hold a passport or nationality for a country in order to compete. Having been born in England, Walz did not qualify for the Spanish Olympic team.

In the summer of 2015 Walz finally got his nationality after a five-year struggle. "The International Olympics Committee doesn’t allow you to represent a country without a passport and the nationalisation process has taken me four or five years." 

Thankfully, his nationality came just in time for the Rio 2016 Olympics where he has helped Spain to their fourth gold medal. Congratulations Marcus, Mallorca is very proud of you.