A farm boy from Ontario, Allen Salter began weightlifting in high school as an excuse to avoid studying. By 1960 he was on the path to a notable athletic career, attending the inaugural Canadian Weightlifting Championships in Quebec City and winning his first of eight consecutive national titles. Two years later he went international, winning a silver medal at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in the Bantamweight division in addition to his participation at the World Weightlifting Championships. His next stop was the 1964 Summer Olympics, where he placed 18th in a field of 22 competitors in the Featherweight category. After an uneventful appearance at the 1965 World Weightlifting Championships, he won a bronze medal in the Featherweight division at his final international tournament, the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games. After failing to qualify for the 1968 Summer Olympics, he decided to coach Aldo Roy, one of Canada’s representatives in the light-heavyweight division at those Games. Outside of sports he worked as a financial auditor, eventually achieving the title of Certified General Accountant and retiring at the age of 57. In 1994 he was made a member of the Smith’s Falls Sports Hall of Fame in the Canadian province of Ontario.
Canada