Dinko "Dean" Lukin, OAM (born 26 May 1960) is an Australian retired

weightlifter Weightlifting or weight lifting generally refers to physical exercises and sports in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells, barbells or machines. People engage in weightlifting for a variety of different reasons. These can ...

. Lukin won the gold medal in the Super Heavyweight category at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

, held in Los Angeles. He carried the Australian flag during the closing ceremony of the 1984 games, and remains Australia's only Olympic gold medallist for weightlifting. He also saw success in the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

, winning gold medals in the super heavyweight division of the 1982 Brisbane games and the 1986 Edinburgh games. Lukin was born in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, but his family moved to the

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

n town of

Port Lincoln Port Lincoln is a city on the Lower Eyre Peninsula in the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of South Australia. Known as Galinyala by the traditional owners, the Barngarla people, it is situated on the shore of Boston Bay, ...

when he was five years old. Lukin was a

tuna A tuna (: tunas or tuna) is a saltwater fish that belongs to the tribe Thunnini, a subgrouping of the Scombridae ( mackerel) family. The Thunnini comprise 15 species across five genera, the sizes of which vary greatly, ranging from the bul ...

fisherman who shot to fame as a weightlifter in the 1980s, then returned to run the family fishing business. In 2000, a portrait of him was hung in the

Archibald Prize The Archibald Prize is an Australian portraiture art prize for painting, generally seen as the most prestigious portrait prize in Australia. It was first awarded in 1921 after the receipt of a bequest from J. F. Archibald, J. F. Archib ...

called ''Strongest Man of the Games'', painted by David Bromley. In a press conference following his 1984 Los Angeles Olympics gold medal, Lukin reportedly told assembled journalists that instead of focusing upon his victory, they should assemble for the disabled games and show those competitors as much time and respect as they had shown him. This was because their achievements were "far greater than mine". In a bid to get healthier during the late 1980s, Lukin went on a diet and lost a lot of the weight that made him one of the top Super Heavyweight weightlifters in the world, claiming that his waist was now the size that his upper thighs were during the 1984 Olympic Games. Lukin was inducted into the

Sport Australia Hall of Fame The Sport Australia Hall of Fame was established on 10 December 1985 to recognise the achievements of Australian sportsmen and sportswomen. The inaugural induction included 120 members with Don Bradman, Sir Don Bradman as the first inductee and ...

in 1985.

References

External links

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Lukin behind $40m Port Lincoln planAn in depth look at Dean Lukin - South Australian Weightlifting Association
*http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/fishing-wharf-in-100m-port-plan/story-e6frea6u-1226213180915 {{DEFAULTSORT:Lukin, Dean 1960 births Living people Australian male weightlifters Olympic weightlifters for Australia Weightlifters at the 1984 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Australia Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees People from Port Lincoln Australian people of Croatian descent Olympic medalists in weightlifting Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Weightlifters at the 1982 Commonwealth Games Weightlifters at the 1986 Commonwealth Games 20th-century Australian sportsmen 21st-century Australian sportsmen Medallists at the 1982 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 1986 Commonwealth Games Sportsmen from South Australia Commonwealth Games gold medallists in weightlifting