'Gladiators' legend John Anderson has died aged 92.
John Anderson has passed away aged 92
The original voice of the competitive TV show was best known for his catchphrase “Contender ready! Gladiator ready!".
The Glaswegian is reported by Athletics Weekly to have passed away in the early hours of Sunday (28.07.24). His cause of death remains unknown.
Originally a coach, Anderson famously guided world 5000m record-breaker Dave Moorcroft, among others, to victory, and he is among the first to pay tribute to the star.
Moorcroft told the publication: “I can’t speak too highly of John.
“He turned water into wine. At our club (Coventry Godiva) we’d never had anybody break four minutes for mile, but not only did I do it but Tim Redman, Colin Ridding and Steve James all broke four minutes.
“I don’t think any of them would describe themselves as world beaters, but John just got the best out of people. I’m certain that I would never have been a decent athlete if it wasn’t for John. Not just because of the training he gave me, but he took a shy kid who didn’t believe in himself and just had that amazing ability to believe in me and others.
“I’m certain that I would never have been a decent athlete if it wasn’t for John. Not just because of the training he gave me, but he took a shy kid who didn’t believe in himself and just had that amazing ability to believe in me and others.”
Moorcroft says Anderson's "bravado and brashness” and “his loud voice" were all "tongue and cheek".
He said: “I also got his humour. I loved all that bravado and brashness and his loud voice and everything because I knew it was all done tongue and cheek.
“He would die for his athletes, and he never took a step backwards. He was a fighter in everything he did.
“He coached me from the age of 16 and never took a penny. It cost him a fortune for the privilege of working for nothing.”
He recalled how Anderson would offer up advice that other coaches wouldn't.
Moorcroft shared: “John used to say that if you want to play the violin, you don’t play the cello during the winter.
“He built his training philosophy around principles that in many respects he established. And also, he kind of took you on a on a risky journey, but you knew exactly where you stood.
“So you trained hard and you did some stuff that maybe was, in hindsight, a bit over the top, and there was always a danger that you could break down, but there was also a danger that you’d end up breaking a world record or something.”
Anderson previously worked as a teacher and coach for Commonwealth Games and Olympic Games athletes.
He headed up sports game show Gladiators from 1992 to 2000, briefly returning in 2008, but retired and was replaced by John Coyle.
He coached British athlete William Sharman, transforming him from a decathlete to a world class sprint hurdler.
'Gladiators' was revived by the BBC this year with Bradley Walsh and his son Barney hosting. A second series is on the way.