Martin Dias

Martin Dias trained to be a jeweler, but practiced weightlifting to keep fit. He was eventually recruited to compete in the sport and came to find considerable success as a bantamweight. In 1962 he took silver in that category at the Central American and Caribbean Games, as well as bronze at the British Empire and Commonwealth Games. He had the greatest success of his career the following year, when he won his division at the Pan American Games. In 1964 he was Guyana’s only representative at the Tokyo Olympics and placed eighth.

Dias continued to compete, and won silver medals at both the Central American and Caribbean Games and the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in 1966. His final major international medal came at the 1967 Pan American Games, where he captured bronze. He retired from active competition and moved to Canada in 1969, where he worked as an automobile specialist at dealerships.