Lukin's father, also called Dean, is Australia's greatest-ever lifter having won the Olympic super heavyweight title at the Los Angeles Games in 1984 along with two Commonwealth Games gold medals.

Lukin junior only took up the sport earlier this month following a football injury and, competing in the 105kg class, in his first competition set a Queensland clean-and-jerk record with a lift of 166kg.

He said: "Dad didn't want me to do weightlifting.

"I used to play soccer and I snapped my ACL (anterior cruciate ligament).

"I didn't want to have an operation, so I got into front squats to rebuild strength in the knee.

"I asked Dad all these questions and it started from there."

Qualifying for Australia's team for Delhi is the clear goal for the 26-year-old accountant.

He said: "I'm not going to chuck any numbers out there and say, 'I can lift this or I can lift that' because talk is cheap.

"The big picture is the Comm Games, but there's a lot of work to be done before then.

"Hopefully by next March, I hope to be smashing my PBs (personal bests).

"If people want to compare me to my dad, I don't care.

"I just want to have a go.

"If the comparison is, 'He won two Commonwealth Games gold medals and an Olympic gold medal and you've done nothing yet', that's fine.

"It takes a special character to win an Olympic Games gold medal, especially the way he did it.

"I just want to be the best I can be.

"The comparison issue is difficult, because we are two different people.

"Everyone remembers him at his absolute pinnacle.

"I'm just starting out. I don't know how far I'll get, but I just want to have a go.

"I can't wait to get to a better level and to get to the next competition."

Lukin senior (pictured), a tuna fisherman, carried the Australian flag during the closing ceremony of the 1984 Games and remains Australia's only Olympic gold medallist for weightlifting.

He also won Commonwealth Games gold medals in Brisbane in 1982 and Edinburgh in 1986.

His son said: "There isn't anyone prouder of my dad than me.

"He was a big-time lifter, the greatest this country has ever had.

"He won two Commonwealth Games gold medals and he's the only Australian - still - to win an Olympic weightlifting gold medal.

"We've imported champions and nobody's got close to him.

"He's taught me everything he knows, but now it's all up to me as to how far I get."