Longtime member and business representative Dalas Santavy has been named head coach of the Canadian Olympic weightlifting team for the 2021 Summer Games in Tokyo. Dalas is a former Canadian National Champion and Pan America Games competitor. Spanning three generations, his family has had a long history of representing Canada on the international stage.
Dalas Santavy (right) with his son Boady Santavy (center) after winning the silver medal at the XXI Commonwealth Games in 2018.
Dalas’ father Bob is a retired Lodge 128 member and former Olympian (Mexico City 1968 and Montreal 1976). His son Boady Santavy has been named to the 2021 Canadian Olympic team. Boady is ranked 5th in the world and is a medal contender. He earned a silver medal at the Pan American Games and Commonwealth Games. As a coach, Dalas has been a part of that journey with his son.
Of the opportunity to coach for his country in the Olympics, Dalas said "It’s an incredible privilege to be able to represent Canada as head coach of the Olympic weightlifting team in Tokyo this year. I have had the honour to represent our country on many international teams as an athlete and a coach, but the Olympics is definitely my biggest achievement. I believe all the years of competing internationally and coaching internationally have prepared me for this moment."
"I have coached Boady since he was six years old, and it has been a long road to get here to the Games. The road has been filled with a lot of highs and lows, but the hard work has paid off and here we are only a month away from representing our great country of Canada at the Olympic Games."
"I know our team of athletes has been training very hard and will represent the best they can. I am proud of all our weightlifters who have qualified for the games as I know the hard work they have done with many years of dedication and now the moment is here. I will do my best as a coach so they can do their best as an athlete to put in the best performance possible in Tokyo. I look forward to the challenge ahead."
