Oliver was the national heavyweight champion 10 years in a row, won the silver medal at the Perth Commonwealth Games in 1962 and the gold medal four years later in Kingston. His greatest achievement didn’t earn him a medal – that was when he was fifth at the world championships in Teheran, which remains the best finish by a New Zealander at a world championships. He coached the New Zealand team at the Commonwealth Games in Christchurch in 1974, when a record seven medals were won by nine lifters. Oliver remains the only lifter to have won the Lonsdale Cup, awarded annually for excellence in a Games sport. Return to the Inductee list