About – Guy Greavette

I was first introduced to the sport of Olympic Weightlifting at the age of 8 when my Father Ron Greavette began in the sport at the age of 31. He trained with the Spartak weightlifting team in Vancouver coached by Wes Woo. Wes was the Olympic coach in 1968 (Mexico) and 1976 (Montreal) with 3 Spartak lifters representing Canada at the Olympic Games (Paul Bjarnason – 1968, Wayne Wilson – 1972, and Keith Adams – 1972). The Spartak Club was one of the strongest clubs in Canada boasting as many as 5 Canadian champions at one time. In 1972 with the help of another weightlifter, Andy Fisher, my father decided to put in a concrete floor in our home garage. This was the start of the Vikings Weightlifting Club. The club was equipped with 2 platforms, a Power Rack, 2 sets of portable Squat Racks, 2 sets of training Blocks, 2 sets of ELEIKO, 2 metal Weider sets, a Hyperextension Bench, a dipping/leg raise station mounted to the wall, and a Bench Press. In the summer it was like a sauna and in the winter we only had a small heater on the floor and a lamp hanging on the wall. It might have been cold in the winter but due to so many

bodies (standing room only), the gym heated up really quick and you had to be careful of weights sliding off the bars due to the condensation. Not the greatest facility in the world but what it lacked in space and beauty, it more than made up for it with pure atmosphere and energy created by all the lifters. Prior to starting in the club I dabbled at lifting weights the odd time on an old exercise bar. My best lift from the ground to overhead was 80 pounds and my Father and his friend, Vic Larsen said they would give me all the change in their pockets if I could lift 85. I made the lift and thought to myself that this was a sport that would really pay off.  Although I did not make a lot of money and most of the time struggled to get by, it was a sport that paid off in many ways.

My first competition was at the age of 13 and at a bodyweight of 44.3kg I did a 30kg Snatch and a 47.5kg Clean & Jerk (C&J) at the Sunset Community Center in Vancouver. I came into the sport at a good time because I was able to be around so many great lifters over the years which fueled me to want to become as good or even better than they were. I had some great coaching early on in my career and to add to that coaching, I spent countless hours not only watching World Championship and Olympic Games 8mm tapes loaned to me by Wes Woo; I also did thousands and thousands of lifts with a broomstick in front of mirrors and windows at night. I am sure my neighbors thought I was crazy and they were right; I was crazy for the sport of Olympic Weightlifting.

I started Viking Weightlifting Equipment to sell the very best weightlifting equipment available: Eleiko Weightlifting equipment and adidas weightlifting shoes / apparel.

 

Best Lifts in each weight category:

45kg category: 38.6kg Snatch – 54.4kg C&J – 93kg Total
52kg category: 57.5kg Snatch – 75kg C&J – 132.5kg Total
56kg category: 72.5kg Snatch – 90kg C&J – 162.5kg Total
60kg category: 92.5kg Snatch – 115kg C&J – 207.5kg Total
67.5kg category: 110kg Snatch – 135kg C&J – 242.5kg Total
75kg category: 135kg Snatch – 167.5 C&J – 302.5kg Total
82.5kg category: 155kg Snatch – 185.5 C&J – 340kg Total
90kg category: 162.5kg Snatch – 195kg C&J – 352.5kg Total

ATHLETE – Guy Greavette:

1973 – First competition
1974 – First participation at the Canadian Championships (B Level)
1975 Canada Winter Games Silver Medal
1975 Western Canada Summer Games Gold Medal
1977 – First participation at the Canadian Championships (A Level)
1978 World Junior Championships – 16th (Athens, Greece)
1979 World Junior Championships – 15th (Debrecen, Hungary)
1979 Western Canada Summer Games Gold Medal (Cdn Junior Snatch Record – 127.5kg @ 75kg)
1980 Commonwealth Championships – 4th (Cardiff, Wales)
1980 World Junior Championships – 8th (Montreal, Canada)
1981 Canadian senior Championships Bronze Medal
1981 Pan American Championships Bronze Medal
1982 Western Canadian Champion
1982 Canadian Senior Champion
1982 Commonwealth Games Silver Medal (Brisbane, Australia)
1983 Canadian Senior Champion
1983 Pannonia International Cup – 4th (Budapest, Hungary)
1985 Western Canadian Champion
1985 Canadian Senior Champion
1985 World Senior Championships – 13th (Sodertalje, Sweden)
1985 Pan American Championships Gold Medal
1986 Western Canadian Champion
1986 Pannonia International Cup (Budapest, Hungary)
1986 Varna International Cup – 4th (Tolbukhin, Bulgaria)
1986 Commonwealth Games Bronze Medal (Edinburgh, Scotland)
1986 World Senior Championships – 13th (Sofia, Bulgaria)
1987 Montreal International Cup Gold Medal
1987 Canadian Senior Championships Silver Medal
1987 Pan American Games Bronze Medal (Indianapolis, USA)
1988 Montreal International Cup Bronze Medal
1988 Canadian Senior Champion
1988 Tsitsibakos International Memorial Gold Medal (Chania, Greece)
1988 Olympic Games – 10th (Seoul, South Korea)
1990 Commonwealth Games Bronze Medal (Auckland, New Zealand)
1992 Western Canadian Champion
1994 Western Canadian Champion
1994 Canadian Senior Championships Silver Medal
2000 World Masters Championships Silver Medal
2005 World Masters Games Gold Medal (World Masters Games Snatch Record of 116kg @ 85kg)

 

 

COACH – Guy Greavette:

1995 World Senior Championships (Guangzhou, China)
2000 World University Championships (Montreal, Canada)
2002 World University Championships (Izmer, Turkey)
2002 World Senior Championships (Warsaw, Poland)
2006 Commonwealth Games – Team Leader (Melbourne, Australia)
2007 World Senior Championships/Olympic Qualifier (Chiangmai, Thailand)
2008 Pan American Championships/Olympic Qualifier (Lima, Peru)
2008 Olympic Games (Beijing, China)
2009 World Senior Championships (Goyang, South Korea)
2010 World Senior Championships/Olympic Qualifier (Antalya, Turkey)
2011 Pan American Games (Guadalajara, Mexico)
2011 World Senior Championships/Olympic Qualifier (Paris, France)

 

 

Guy Greavette Best training lifts:

Snatch (Floor, Hang & blocks) – 165kg
C&J – 202.5kg
Power Clean (Hang) – 182.5kg x 2
Power Snatch – 150kg
Jerk (Rack) – 215kg
Power Jerk from behind (Rack) – 200kg
Front Squat – 230kg
Back Squat – 262.5kg x 2
Bench – 184kg
Military Press – 130kg
Deadlift – 289kg