Boady Santavy

Biography

Boady Santavy comes from a line of weightlifters that includes his Olympian grandfather Bob and his father Dalas who competed at the Pan Am Games and world championships. In his own Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020, Santavy finished fourth in the men’s 96kg event, missing the podium by one kilogram after topping the field in the snatch portion of the competition. That was the best finish by a male Canadian weightlifter at the Olympic Games since Jacques Demers at Los Angeles 1984. 

Santavy made his senior international debut at the Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games, finishing sixth in the 85kg weight class. After moving up to the 94kg weight class, Santavy finished fifth at the 2017 IWF World Championships. At Gold Coast 2018, Santavy set a Commonwealth Games record in the snatch, lifting 168kg, en route to winning the silver medal. 

He won 96kg bronze at the 2019 Pan American Championships before winning silver in that same weight class at the Lima 2019 Pan Am Games. Santavy capped his 2019 season with a sixth-place finish at the IWF World Championships, moving up one place from the year before. 

In January 2020, Santavy won 96kg silver at the IWF World Cup in Rome. He did not compete again internationally until April 2021 when he won silver at the Pan American Championships. He closed out 2021 with a fifth-place finish at the IWF World Championships, which also earned him gold in the Commonwealth Championships. That was his second career top-five finish at the worlds. 

In 2023, Santavy started losing weight in preparation to drop down to the 89kg weight class as the 96kg event had been removed from the Olympic program for Paris 2024. He competed at 89kg for the first time at the IWF Grand Prix II in December 2023, finishing sixth in a key Olympic qualification event.      

As a youth competitor, Santavy was ranked seventh in the world after winning three gold medals at the 2014 Youth Pan American Championships. He made his junior world championship debut in 2015, breaking into the top 10, after finishing second as a senior at the Canadian championships before his 18^th birthday. 

A Little More About Boady

Getting into the Sport: Started weightlifting training at age 6 and began competing at age 7… Often accompanied his dad to training in an old barn at his coach’s house and after spending time drawing or doing homework, asked if he could lift… Odds and Ends: Grandfather Bob Santavy competed at the Montreal 1976 Olympic Games, two Pan Am Games (1967, 1975 bronze), two Commonwealth Games (1970 silver, 1978 bronze), and two world championships; was also named to the 1968 Olympic team but was unable to compete due to injury… Father Dalas Santavy competed at two Commonwealth Games (1998, 2006), the 2007 Pan Am Games, and the 2005 World Championships… Brother Noah competed at the 2019 and 2021 World Championships and the Santiago 2023 Pan Am Games… Sister Alana competed at the 2019 Youth World Championships… Favourite quote: Today I will do what others won’t, so tomorrow I can do what others can’t – Jerry Rice… Nickname: Boady-Bob…