Gladiators legend John Anderson dies aged 92
The TV legend died in the early hours of Sunday, July 28.
Gladiators star John Anderson has tragically died aged 92.
The legend was the show's original referee from the very first episode in 1992 until 2000. Anderson died in the early hours of Sunday morning, reports Athletics Weekly.
Those who watched Gladiators on a Saturday evening the first time round will be only too familiar with his booming voice shouting out: "Contender, ready! Gladiator, ready!" in preparation for the action to begin. Even those who didn't know his name are likely to have heard his distinctive war-cry in the arena.
However, John had an illustrious career before his time on the show too. He was a former track and field coach who guided numerous Olympic stars' careers.
Dave Moorcroft was one of the most famous Olympians he trained, going on to break the world 5000m record in Oslo way back in 1982. He also coached famous heptathlete Judy Simpson, Olympic middle-distance finalist Sheila Carey and Liz McColgan, who won the 10,000m silver award in 1988.
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Moorcroft himself has now paid tribute, being one of the first famous names to mark his passing.
He told Athletics Weekly that he "can't speak too highly of John", with his affection for the man who led him to sporting victory all too clear.
"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," he explained.
“I don’t think any of them would describe themselves as world beaters but John just got the best out of people."
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He added poignantly: "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 added that, as a "fighter", the Gladiator star would "die for his athletes".
He went on to add that although he'd trained him up from the age of 16, he'd never asked for a penny.
