Rodney Wilkes

Rodney Adolphus Wilkes (11 March 1925 – 24 March 2014) was a weightlifter from Trinidad and Tobago. Nicknamed "The Mighty Midget", he remained relatively unknown outside of local competition until he won the gold medal at the 1946 Central American and Caribbean Games in Barranquilla, Colombia. His performance included record lifts of in the press, in the snatch and in the clean and jerk.

In 1951 Wilkes won the featherweight gold medal at the first Pan American Games in Buenos Aires. The next year he was again selected for the Olympics in Helsinki. On this occasion he won the bronze medal behind Rafael Chimishkyan and Nikolai Saksonov, both of the Soviet Union. After a brief period of retirement in 1953 Wilkes returned to competition and won gold at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Vancouver; four years later he won bronze at Games in Cardiff.

Wilkes final Olympic appearance came at the 1956 Melbourne Games. He finished in fourth position with a combined lift of , missing out on a medal by one place and 5 kg. He continued competing until 1960 but retired for good when he failed to make the West Indies team for the Olympics in Rome.