Louis George Martin (11 November 1936 – 16 January 2015) was a British middle-heavyweight weightlifter.

Biography

Martin was born in

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long spit (landform), sand spit which connects the town of Por ...

, where he did some bodybuilding. In the mid-1950s he moved to the United Kingdom and started training in weightlifting. At the

1958 Commonwealth Games The 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games (Welsh: ''Gemau Ymerodraeth Prydain a'r Gymanwlad'' 1958) were held in Cardiff, Wales, from 18 to 26 July 1958. It was the sixth edition of what would come to be known as the Commonwealth Games, the ...

he still represented Jamaica, but the next year he won a world title while competing for Great Britain. At the Summer Olympics, he won a bronze medal in 1960 and a silver medal in 1964; he failed in the last (clean and jerk) event in 1968. Between 1959 and 1965 he won four world and four European titles and set four world records, though only two became official. He represented

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and won a

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

in the middle heavyweight division, at the

1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games The 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Perth, Western Australia, from 22 November to 1 December 1962. Athletic events were held at Perry Lakes Stadium in the suburb of Floreat and swimming events at Beatty Park in North ...

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, Western Australia. He went on to secure three consecutive gold medals at the Commonwealth Games, winning the gold in the middle heavyweight division at both the

1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games The 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Kingston, Jamaica, from 4 to 13 August 1966. This was the first time that the Games had been held outside the so-called White Dominions. The event was followed by the 1966 Commonweal ...

in Kingston, Jamaica and the

1970 British Commonwealth Games The 1970 British Commonwealth Games were held in Edinburgh, Scotland, from 16 to 25 July 1970. This was the first time the name British Commonwealth Games was adopted, the first time metric units rather than imperial units were used in all eve ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, Scotland. In 2018, Martin was one of the first people to be commemorated by a plaque on Derby's walk of fame.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Louis George 1936 births 2015 deaths Sportspeople from Kingston, Jamaica Jamaican male weightlifters British male weightlifters Commonwealth Games competitors for Jamaica Weightlifters at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists for England Weightlifters at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Weightlifters at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Weightlifters at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games Olympic weightlifters for Great Britain Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain Weightlifters at the 1960 Summer Olympics Weightlifters at the 1964 Summer Olympics Weightlifters at the 1968 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in weightlifting Jamaican emigrants to the United Kingdom Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1960 Summer Olympics Medallists at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games 20th-century Jamaican sportsmen Commonwealth Games gold medallists in weightlifting