2023 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 12
BY SENATORS BERNARD AND BOUDREAUX
A RESOLUTION
To commend Walter Imahara on being inducted into the 2023 class of the Louisiana Sports
Hall of Fame.
WHEREAS, the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in Natchitoches, Louisiana, each year
collaborates with the Louisiana Sports Writers Association in selecting a limited number of
sports figures who embody the character, skill, and talent worthy of being named to the Hall
of Fame; and
WHEREAS, the 2023 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Induction Class includes
Walter Imahara; and
WHEREAS, Walter Imahara is a six-time United States of America national
champion in the 60 kg (132-pound) weight class while competing in the press, snatch, and
clean and jerk; he is a member of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics Hall of
Fame and the Louisiana Weightlifting Hall of Fame; and
WHEREAS, Walter Imahara became the first Asian to attend the Southwestern
Louisiana Institute (SLI), now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, in the mid-1950s
where he was nicknamed the "Asian-Cajun" by the school president, and graduated with a
degree in horticulture in 1960; and
WHEREAS, Walter Imahara joined the SLI weightlifting team and was an All-
American when the program won the 1957 National Collegiate Athletic Association
(NCAA) team title, the first-ever for the school; and
WHEREAS, he was the NCAA Featherweight Champion in 1957, 1959, and 1960,
improving his total each time, lifting a total of 645 pounds in 1957, 695 pounds in 1959, and
725 pounds in 1960 when he was named an All-American, earned "Best Lifter" acclaim, and
won the 1960 Junior National crown; and
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WHEREAS, a longtime Baton Rouge resident and businessman, Walter Imahara won
his first national professional weightlifting titles in 1962 and 1963 while serving the United
States Army and winning four consecutive titles from 1965 to 1968 representing the New
Orleans Athletic Club; and
WHEREAS, Walter Imahara won eight Senior National crowns, the 1967 Pan Am
Gold Medal, eight Southern Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) crowns, six Louisiana State
crowns, two Southern USA championships, and he was the National Masters Champion
from 1980 to 2005; and
WHEREAS, in 2000 and 2002, Walter Imahara was a recipient of the Grand Slam
Award given to athletes who have competed in and won all four major Masters events in one
year: National Masters Championships, Pan American Masters Championships, World
Masters Championships, and American Masters Championships; and
WHEREAS, prior to retiring from competition at the age of 68, Walter Imahara held
68 national records, 35 Pan American marks, 42 World Masters-Masters Games records, and
had been the chairman of the International Weightlifting Federation-Masters Program for
20 years.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
does hereby commend Walter Imahara on being inducted into the 2023 class of the
Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to
Walter Imahara.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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