Donald Dinnie: “The Nineteenth Century’s Greatest Athlete”

Posted on Tuesday, April 29th, 2014 by John Wood
Donald Dinnie, the Scottish strongman, wrestler and Highland Games athlete has been widely recognized as “The Nineteenth Century’s Greatest Athlete.” It’s not hard to understand why, Dinnie excelled in nearly every sporting event he took part in whether running, hurdles, the long jump, hammer throwing, putting the stone, caber tossing and wrestling (just to name a few.) Over his career, Dinnie took part in over 11,000 different competitions, among them, the Scottish Highland Games Championships, of which he won for two decades straight: every year from 1856 through 1876.