Weightlifting

Inducted in 2010

South Australia’s “Colossus of Loads” is the only Australian to win an Olympic Gold Medal in Weightlifting.

He had been persuaded to take up weightlifting by his Headmaster, Leon Holme, and went on to win Commonwealth Games Gold Medals in 1982 at Brisbane and 1986 at Edinburgh, but he still considered weightlifting to be a hobby away from his tuna fishing.

As a consequence, after the first round of battle at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics he trailed in third place. To win, Lukin lifted 240 kgs, 5 kgs more than he had ever lifted before.

In 1985 Lukin was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame and received the Medal of the Order of Australia.