An Elgin teacher was named a European Champion last week at a powerlifting competition.
Graeme Reid, 45, won the title when he broke two Scottish records in the European Bench Press championships in Istanbul.
The competition on August 8 brought powerlifters from all over Europe to compete against others in their age and weight class.
Graeme, who is from Findochty but works as a teacher in Elgin, trained in Spain for over two weeks before the championships to get used to the warm climate.
Friend introduced Graeme to world of powerlifting
Mr Reid first started powerlifting six years ago when he was 39.
He said: “A friend said to me that I should give powerlifting a try.
“I didn’t really know much about it and thought it was like going to the gym, but my friend made me realise it’s more of a set discipline.
“I’ve focused on the bench press and it’s kind of just gone from there.
“When you do a sport, you’ve always got that itch to be the best you can be.”
Graeme’s opening lift at the championships in Istanbul was 230kg which became his new personal best and even broke the Scottish record.
After that, he managed to break the record he had just created by lifting 240kg.
He narrowly missed the 250kg for his final lift but his previous achievements secured him first place and he became the European Champion for his age and weight class.
Graeme beat the 2024 world champion lifter Rene Gross from Germany, as well as experienced Swedish lifter Martin Anderrson.
‘Emotional experience’ for the strongman
Graeme said: “I’m not really emotional and I don’t cry very often – but I cried when I got the award.
“It was quite overwhelming because the two other lifters looked like they could beat me from previous results.
“I thought I’d maybe walk away with third – I never expected first place.”
Graeme said the support from his competitors was overwhelming, and they’ve even kept in contact with him after the competition.
“It’s a competitive sport, but I would say I’ve made some friends that will probably stay with me forever,” he added.
The championship last week was Graeme’s third outing with Team GB.
“I’d taken a year out but then I got re-selected by Team GB for this competition, so I knew a lot of the team already anyways,” he said.
“So actually, when we got all together in Turkey, it was great to meet a lot of familiar faces.
“It was really nice arriving at the hotel and everyone was chatting and catching up with each other. It felt really welcoming.”
Because of the successes from other members of Team GB, they were awarded a bronze team medal.
Pupil inspired by Graeme’s powerlifting journey
Mr Reid has worked as a teacher for 25 years.
He currently works in Elgin as a teacher with the Moray Social, Emotional and Behavioural Needs team.
“I’ve come back to school this week and the young people were really interested about the championships,” he said.
“Some young people that used to be pupils have also been in touch to say well done.
“It’s really nice to hear because they go off to college or employment, and it’s nice that they remember their teacher.”
When Graeme shows his pupils videos of his team’s powerlifting, he said that they find it ‘crazy’.
He added: “They think it’s crazy. When you look at it, I guess it kind of is.
“I work in Elgin and there’s not really that kind of a stuff happening here.
“The kids are quite encouraging about it, but they all bet they could beat me in competitions.
“We’ve had one child even go on and become a Scottish champion for his age group.”
‘Incredible’ support from friends and family
The powerlifter was flooded with over 300 messages congratulating his performance when he got back to his hotel.
He said: “People were really supportive, it’s been incredible. I’ve even heard from people I hadn’t spoken to in years.
“My wife especially has been really supportive with everything. This is things like letting me train four times a week, eat a special diet and just do my own thing with weightlifting.
“She understands that pretty much everyone does a sport, but for me it’s more than that. This is for my mental health.”
Graeme is documenting his journey to lifting 250kg on his social media account and wants people interested in the sport to feel free to get in contact with him.
“If there’s anybody who is interested in learning about powerlifting and wishing to compete in that, I’m more than happy to help people in the local area,” he added.
“If I was never told about the sport from my friend, I’d probably just be a normal bloke in the gym.
“Now, because that friend told me about it, I’m competing on an international level.”
Conversation