Christine Walt still trains three days a week out of her son’s gym in Frankford. Photo by Thomas Goyer, QNet News
By Thomas Goyer [1]
BELLEVILLE – Most people would not be Olympic weightlifting at the age of 69. Most people are not Christine Walt.
Walt’s accomplishments have now got her inducted into the Belleville Sports Hall of Fame [2]. The ceremony was on Saturday.
Walt says she was “totally blown away, I was really excited,” when she was called by hall of fame president Dave Mills back in July. She did not expect the honour.
She now joins her husband Bob and his two brothers Gary and Art as Walt weightlifters in the Belleville Sports Hall of Fame.
The Walt’s are weightlifting royalty in the Quinte area. They operate the Apollo Barbell C [3]lub [3] which teaches anyone interested in the art of Olympic weightlifting.
Walt did not start weightlifting until the age of 50. Before then she had been in a supporting role to her husband and two sons Tony and Cory.
After being encouraged for years to take up the sport she says that she wanted to become more active for health reasons. She says she has never looked back.
“She caught the bug and it hasn’t stopped since,” said her son Tony.
After four years of training she started competing in her first events at age 54.
Now 69 she says she has no intentions of slowing down.
“I not quitting in the near future.”
During her career Walt has set several records.
Her accolades include eight first place finishes at the Canadian Masters Championships [4] and five first place finishes at the Pan American Masters Championships [5].
She was also inducted into the Canadian Masters Weightlifting Hall of Fame earlier this year.
Now she can add the Belleville Sports Hall of Fame to her list of accomplishments.
She says she does not feel that what she is doing is different.
“I’m not special, I’m just out here for me and my health,” Walt said.
After being coached by her husband for years she made the decision to have her son Tony take over.
Tony doesn’t agree with his mom’s claim that she’s not unusual. He says that her lifting ability is very rare.
When he found out she was being inducted into the hall of fame Tony says his reaction was “it’s about time.”
“I was so bloody proud of her,” he said.
Dave Mills is president of the Hall of fame and praised the Walt family and what they have done in the local area.
“They are a very dedicated group of people to their community and to their sport and you can’t say enough about them and the good things they have done and continue to do.”