Walter Davis (triple jumper)

{{Short description|American triple jumper}}

{{for|the American high jumper|Walt Davis}}

{{MedalTableTop|Walter Davis Osaka07 D3A Triple Jump VC.jpg|200px|Walter Davis at the 2007 World Championships medal ceremony|sport=Men's athletics|country_code=USA|medals=

{{Medal|Competition|World Championships}}

{{Medal|Gold|2005 Helsinki|Triple jump}}

{{Medal|Bronze|2007 Osaka|Triple jump}}

{{Medal|Competition|World Indoor Championships}}

{{Medal|Gold |2006 Moscow|Triple jump}}

{{Medal|Silver |2003 Birmingham|Triple jump}}

}}

Walter L. Davis (born July 2, 1979) is an American athlete competing in the triple jump and occasionally in the long jump. He was born in Lafayette, Louisiana

Davis won the 2005 World Outdoor and 2006 World Indoor Championships.

However, his greatest claim to fame may have occurred in the 2004 Olympic Trials, where in the later rounds of the final he put in an extraordinary jump, during the landing phase of which he lost control, with his foot hitting the sand a significant distance behind his rump, which is the usual area of the body which lands first in the sand. The jump had to be measured from first body contact with the sand, the foot, which was an official 17.63m. The distance of the jump to where his rump landed in the sand was at least 18 m from video analysis.

Davis was a member of the Louisiana State University track and field team.

In the period from July 2012 to 2013, he missed three mandatory drug tests. This resulted in a one-year ban from the sport.[http://www.usada.org/aaa-arbitrator-imposes-one-year-sanction-on-us-track-field-athlete-davis-for-whereabouts-filing-violation/ AAA Arbitrator Imposes One-Year Sanction On US Track & Field Athlete, Davis, For Whereabouts Filing Violation]. USADA (2014-04-21). Retrieved on 2014-06-27.