Grant Edwards
Encyclopedia
Commander Grant Edwards is a high ranking Australian law enforcement officer and former strongman
competitor and entrant to the World's Strongest Man
competition.
. He was well known for displays of strength and in the greatest feats of strength section of the 2001 edition of Guiness Book of Records, Grant Edwards was picked out for special mention for his feat of single-handedly pulling a 198-ton train a distance of 120 ft. 9 in. along a railroad track at Thirlmere
, NSW, Australia, on 4 April 1996. The 1999 win in Australia's Strongest Man led to an invitation to the prestigious World's Strongest Man
in 1999. Drawn in the same group as Magnus Samuelsson
, Edwards was directly matched up against the Swede in the log lift, losing 10 lifts to 2. Magnus won the group and Edwards failed to progress to the final.
Edwards was also a Highland Games
competitor. One of his notable achievements was winning the Scottish heavy throws contest at the 1997 Rosneath
and Clynder
Highland Games. He totalled 30 points to defeat Robert McKee (USA) and Ivo Degelling (Holland) who finished second equal with 27 points.
Outside of his strongman career, Edwards pursued a career within the Australian police. He joined the Australian Federal Police
(AFP) in 1985 and worked in Sydney, Newcastle, Canberra and Los Angeles covering such areas as family law, international drug trafficking and people smuggling. He established the AFP's Transnational Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking Team in 2003, which addresses crimes of transnational sexual exploitation and travelling child sex offenders. From here he took the position of Chair of the Interpol Expert working Group on trafficking in Women and Children, becoming an international expert in this field. He went on to work as the National Surveillance Coordinator, Coordinator of Transnational Crime Intelligence and in 2006 gained promotion to Commander, in his capacity as Manager Criminal Intelligence Collection. In January 2008 Commander Edwards was posted to Timor-Leste as Security Advisor to the Secretary of State for Security within the Government of Timor Leste. His work within this role was praised by the Minister for Home Affairs
, Brendan O'Connor who echoed and endorsed comments made by the Prime Minister of Timor-Leste His Excellency Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão. O'Connor said "Praise from the Prime Minister of Timor-Leste His Excellency Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão today, is testament to Commander Edwards’ professionalism and the dedication that he has brought to the role. His efforts have gone a long way to strengthening relationships between Australia and Timor-Leste".
Strongman (strength athlete)
In the 19th century, the term strongman referred to an exhibitor of strength or circus performers of similar ilk who displayed feats of strength such as the bent press , supporting large amounts of...
competitor and entrant to the World's Strongest Man
World's Strongest Man
The World's Strongest Man is a well recognised event in strength athletics and has been described by a number of highly respected authorities in the sport as the premier event in strongman. Organized by TWI, an IMG Media company, it is broadcast around the end of December each year...
competition.
Biography
Grant Edwards competed on the international circuit prior to his 1999 triumph in Australia's Strongest ManAustralia's Strongest Man
Australia's Strongest Man is an annual strongman competition held in the Australia and featuring predominantly Australian athletes, although notably 12 time winner Derek Boyer is originally from Fiji. The contest was established in 1993, with Bill Lyndon winning the inaugural contest.-Official...
. He was well known for displays of strength and in the greatest feats of strength section of the 2001 edition of Guiness Book of Records, Grant Edwards was picked out for special mention for his feat of single-handedly pulling a 198-ton train a distance of 120 ft. 9 in. along a railroad track at Thirlmere
Thirlmere
Thirlmere is a reservoir in the Borough of Allerdale in Cumbria and the English Lake District. It runs roughly south to north, with a dam at the northern end, and is bordered on the eastern side by the A591 road and on the western side by a minor road....
, NSW, Australia, on 4 April 1996. The 1999 win in Australia's Strongest Man led to an invitation to the prestigious World's Strongest Man
World's Strongest Man
The World's Strongest Man is a well recognised event in strength athletics and has been described by a number of highly respected authorities in the sport as the premier event in strongman. Organized by TWI, an IMG Media company, it is broadcast around the end of December each year...
in 1999. Drawn in the same group as Magnus Samuelsson
Magnus Samuelsson
Magnus Samuelsson , is a Swedish strongman and winner of the 1998 World's Strongest Man contest in Morocco...
, Edwards was directly matched up against the Swede in the log lift, losing 10 lifts to 2. Magnus won the group and Edwards failed to progress to the final.
Edwards was also a Highland Games
Highland games
Highland games are events held throughout the &Highland games are events held throughout the &Highland games are events held throughout the &(-è_çà in Scotland and other countries as a way of celebrating Scottish and Celtic culture and heritage, especially that of the Scottish Highlands. Certain...
competitor. One of his notable achievements was winning the Scottish heavy throws contest at the 1997 Rosneath
Rosneath
Rosneath is a village in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It sits on the western shore of the Gare Loch near to the tip of the Rosneath peninsula which projects south to the Firth of Clyde between the Gare Loch and Loch Long to the west, and about 2 miles from the village of Kilcreggan which is sited...
and Clynder
Clynder
Clynder is a place on the western shore of the Gare Loch, Argyll and Bute, Scotland.Historically in the County of Dunbarton, Clynder is one of a string of small settlements on the Rosneath Peninsula...
Highland Games. He totalled 30 points to defeat Robert McKee (USA) and Ivo Degelling (Holland) who finished second equal with 27 points.
Outside of his strongman career, Edwards pursued a career within the Australian police. He joined the Australian Federal Police
Australian Federal Police
The Australian Federal Police is the federal police agency of the Commonwealth of Australia. Although the AFP was created by the amalgamation in 1979 of three Commonwealth law enforcement agencies, it traces its history from Commonwealth law enforcement agencies dating back to the federation of...
(AFP) in 1985 and worked in Sydney, Newcastle, Canberra and Los Angeles covering such areas as family law, international drug trafficking and people smuggling. He established the AFP's Transnational Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking Team in 2003, which addresses crimes of transnational sexual exploitation and travelling child sex offenders. From here he took the position of Chair of the Interpol Expert working Group on trafficking in Women and Children, becoming an international expert in this field. He went on to work as the National Surveillance Coordinator, Coordinator of Transnational Crime Intelligence and in 2006 gained promotion to Commander, in his capacity as Manager Criminal Intelligence Collection. In January 2008 Commander Edwards was posted to Timor-Leste as Security Advisor to the Secretary of State for Security within the Government of Timor Leste. His work within this role was praised by the Minister for Home Affairs
Minister for Home Affairs (Australia)
The Australian Minister for Home Affairs has been Brendan O'Connor since 6 June 2009. The Home Affairs portfolio brings together agencies such as the Australian Customs Service , the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, which were previously the...
, Brendan O'Connor who echoed and endorsed comments made by the Prime Minister of Timor-Leste His Excellency Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão. O'Connor said "Praise from the Prime Minister of Timor-Leste His Excellency Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão today, is testament to Commander Edwards’ professionalism and the dedication that he has brought to the role. His efforts have gone a long way to strengthening relationships between Australia and Timor-Leste".