Guy Carlton started competing in weightlifting when he was in the sixth grade. He played football and wrestled in high school. Carlton won three silver medals in the sub-heavyweight class at the 1979 Pan American Games. He was a member of the 1980 US Olympic team that did not compete. Through 2012 his bronze medal in the heavyweight class at the 1984 Olympics is the last Olympic medal by an American male weightlifter in one of the heavier weight classes. Carlton won US titles in the 110 kg class in 1981 and 1984 and won golds at the 1981, 1982, and 1983 National Sports Festivals. He attended Eastern Illinois University where he studied business. During the time of his 1984 Olympic appearance he was working as a concrete finisher. He later ran Carlton’s Fitness Club in Normal, Illinois.