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On his passport, the official name is Salvatore Coffa, but the entire weightlifting world knows him as Sam Coffa. After a successful career as an athlete, coach, manager, official and administrator, the first years of his life were however modest, within a Sicilian family experiencing the difficulties and challenges caused by World War II. Born in Ferla (Sicily, Italy) in January 1936, Coffa emigrated with the family to Australia in 1952, in search of other horizons and opportunities. He will quickly integrate the community in Hawthorn (suburbs of Melbourne), by practicing and developing weightlifting in the local club. As an athlete, he progresses quickly, and after acquiring Australian citizenship in 1959, he takes part in the 1962 Commonwealth Games and 1964 Olympic Games, representing his new country. If the results in Tokyo are somehow deceiving, his most vivid and emotional memory remains the opening ceremony, where he could, in his own words, “proudly march behind the Australian flag”. After his retirement as an athlete, he remains a pillar in the development of weightlifting in his town, in the state of Victoria, in Australia (he is presently at the helm of the national body), in the Commonwealth community, continental federation, and at the IWF level. Sam Coffa is the world reference in terms of the weightlifting rules, currently chairing the IWF Technical Committee – he is also a member of the IWF Executive Board, where his highest position was of First Vice-President. Also involved with politics, he was Mayor of Hawthorn on two occasions, was awarded the membership of the Order of Australia, and was inducted into the Weightlifting Hall of Fame in 2009.