Albert Atamanchuk’s name became synonymous with weightlifting shortly after his early involvement. Through forty seven years he has been, and still was, active as an athlete while serving as a world class official and administrator. In 1955, he won the Manitoba Middleweight championship, a title he kept through 1962 while adding the Western Canadian title in 1958 and both the Canadian and YMHA title in 1959. He moved up as the light heavyweight provincial champ in 1963, and ‘65 through ‘67. Somehow his weight blossomed to carry him to the mid-heavyweight crown in 1964. Atamanchuk won the masters 82.5 kg class title in 1984, also winning the masters best lifter title that year.

Atamanchuk served on the weightlifting organizing committee for the 1967 Pan American Games in Winnipeg. He managed numerous Canadian teams at international events (1975 world junior championships at Marseille, the 1982 world junior and Pan American championships in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and the 1989 North American collegiate championships at Kansas City).

When Atamanchuk was not managing, he was officiating. He co-authored the Canadian Weightlifting Federation Officials and Managers Manual (used by many international federations since its publication in Canada). He also co-authored the CWF Doping Control Manual, which helped the sport to deter chemical abuse by athletes.

One of Al Atamanchuk’s favourite pursuits has been the development of the women’s weightlifting program, and he takes pride in the strong performances Canadian women have had, with 4th and 5th place finishes at international competitions. He is also credited with perfecting the use of the clean and jerk movement for strength training. He has watched the sport mature through almost 5 decades. He was a first alternate official for the 1992 Olympic games.