A native of Quebec, Adrien Poliquin began attracting attention as a bantamweight (-57 kg) wrestler in the late 1940s. He first became Canadian champion in the event in 1949 and would go on to capture the crown five more times in 1951-54 and 1956. It was as the national titleholder that he was chosen to represent his country at the 1952 Summer Olympics and the 1954 British Empire Games. In the former he lost by a fall in the first round against Khashaba Jhadav of India, the eventual bronze medalist, while in the latter he finished fourth. Despite winning the Canadian championship in 1956, Poliquin was not selected for that year’s Olympic delegation, as Canada had only two spots available on its wrestling team and many national titleholders to choose from. Poliquin retired several years later, in 1959.
Canada