Albert (Ab) Blondin
Ab Blondin’s weightlifting career began innocently enough — with a letter to world renowned bodybuilder Charles Atlas, in 1940, asking advice on exercises. That inauspicious beginning led to this Peterborough native becoming one of Canada’s top weightlifters for the next 2 decades, in both lightweight and middleweight classes. While no official championships were held at the Canadian level following World War II, Ab set national standards in capturing Ontario championships on 10 occasions.
As a 142-pound lightweight, he was one of the first Canadian lifters to raise double his body weight above his head, hoisting 285 pounds on one occasion. In 1947, at the Canadian Olympic trials, he finished a close second in the lightweight division, just missing a berth on the Olympic team. Moving up to middleweight, he won the provincial crown in 1958 with a total lift of 670 pounds in press, snatch, and clean and jerk.
He received his coaching certificate and taught at the YMCA for 15 years. He died in 1998.
Year Inducted:
1990
Status:
Deceased
Ab Blondin’s weightlifting career began innocently enough — with a letter to world renowned bodybuilder Charles Atlas, in 1940, asking advice on exercises. That inauspicious beginning led to this Peterborough native becoming one of Canada’s top weightlifters for the next 2 decades, in both lightweight and middleweight classes. While no official championships were held at the Canadian level following World War II, Ab set national standards in capturing Ontario championships on 10 occasions.
As a 142-pound lightweight, he was one of the first Canadian lifters to raise double his body weight above his head, hoisting 285 pounds on one occasion. In 1947, at the Canadian Olympic trials, he finished a close second in the lightweight division, just missing a berth on the Olympic team. Moving up to middleweight, he won the provincial crown in 1958 with a total lift of 670 pounds in press, snatch, and clean and jerk.
He received his coaching certificate and taught at the YMCA for 15 years. He died in 1998.