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

Posted on Tuesday, April 29th, 2014 by John Wood

Donald Dinnie

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.

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Phil Caira

Posted on Thursday, September 19th, 2013 by John Wood
Phil Caira was one of Scotland’s greatest weightlifters. Here he is with a 265 lb. snatch at the 1958 Commonwealth Games, where he took first in the light-heavyweight class, coincidentally. Caira was know for his extremely “low” style. Caira also won the light-heavy class at the 1962 Commonwealth Games as well.