Robert Hunter was a member of the University of Toronto’s varsity coxed eights crew that was selected to represent Canada at the 1924 Summer Olympics. At the Games, his squad, which consisted of Arthur Bell, Ivor Campbell, William Langford, Harold Little, John Smith, Warren Snyder, Norman Taylor, and William Wallace, lost their heat to the United States, but earned the right to compete in the final by winning the repêchage. There they were again defeated by the United States, but captured the silver medal ahead of the Italians and the Britons. A member of Phi Gamma Delta, Hunter graduated from the University of Toronto in 1925 and worked as a coach for the Hamilton’s Leander Boat Club through the 1930s. He coached the Leander coxed eights crew that won a bronze medal at the 1932 Summer Olympics, as well as the one that represented Canada at the 1936 edition. He was the author of Rowing in Canada since 1848, which was published in 1933.