Grant Anderson is a former

weightlifter Olympic weightlifting, or Olympic-style weightlifting (officially named Weightlifting), is a sport in which athletes compete in lifting a barbell loaded with weight plates from the ground to overhead, with each athlete trying to successfully lift ...

and Highland Games competitor from

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. He won a bronze medal at the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

in 1970 in the heavyweight class of the

weightlifting Weightlifting generally refers to activities in which people lift Weight training#Equipment, weights, often in the form of dumbbells or barbells. People lift various kinds of weights for a variety of different reasons. These may include various t ...

but was more prominent as a Highland Games competitor, in which capacity he won the inaugural

World Highland Games Championships The World Highland Games Championships is a well-recognized event in both strength athletics and Highland Games. The championships were organized by David Webster, OBE of Scotland, who still conducts the World Championships. A roll of past compe ...

in 1980 in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

Biography

Born in

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

,Emily Ann Donaldson, ''The Scottish Highland Games in America'', p19, Pelican Publishing, 1986, , Anderson was well educated and trained to become a town planner. As an amateur athlete he excelled in field athletics and strength-based sports and specialised in weightlifting. As a weightlifter he competed in the

1970 Commonwealth Games The 1970 British Commonwealth Games (Scottish Gaelic: Geamannan a 'Cho-fhlaitheis Bhreatainn 1970) were held in Edinburgh, Scotland, from 16 to 25 July 1970. This was the first time the name British Commonwealth Games was adopted, the first time ...

in the superheavyweight class, the first time that class had been introduced to the games, and won the bronze medal. He then began to compete as a Highland Games specialist against his namesake, but no relation, Bill Anderson. In 1979 he competed in the first ever

Britain's Strongest Man Britain's Strongest Man is an annual strongman event held in the United Kingdom. Competitors qualify for the final through regional heats and the winner is awarded the title of "Britain's Strongest Man". The competition is produced by TWI and ser ...

, won by Geoff Capes, nominally as a well-known name on the Highland Games circuit than for his prowess as a weightlifter. The following year, in 1980, he won the inaugural

and came third in that event in 1981. In 1982 he won it a second time in

Prestonpans Prestonpans ( gd, Baile an t-Sagairt, Scots: ''The Pans'') is a small mining town, situated approximately eight miles east of Edinburgh, Scotland, in the Council area of East Lothian. The population as of is. It is near the site of the 1745 ...

, underlying his status. In 1983 he broke Bill Anderson's fourteen-year-old record in the 22 lb hammer throw with a distance of .Emily Ann Donaldson, ''The Scottish Highland Games in America'', p78, Pelican Publishing, 1986, ,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Grant Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Scottish strength athletes Scottish male weightlifters Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Scotland Sportspeople from Dundee Scottish sportsmen Weightlifters at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games medallists in weightlifting Scottish urban planners