Don Oliver

Donald Carthew Oliver (16 April 1937 to 26 February 1996) was a New Zealand heavyweight weightlifter who later built a career in the fitness industry. Born in the Auckland suburb of Avondale, he won the silver medal at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games and the gold medal in the same division at the 1966 Games in Kingston. He represented New Zealand at three Olympic Games, finishing 13th in 1960, ninth in 1964 and eighth in 1968, when he also carried the New Zealand flag at the opening ceremony in Mexico City. Over his career he won ten New Zealand national heavyweight titles and held the national record in the division from 1959 to 1968. A butcher by trade, he opened the Don Oliver Health Centre in 1975, went on to own six gyms in Auckland and trained several All Blacks. He was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1981 and died of cancer in Auckland.