[3] Anderson contributed significantly to the development of competitive powerlifting; due to his many world records and outstanding feats of strength, he has often been called "the strongest man who ever lived.

As a teenager, he began his early weight training on his own in his family's backyard to increase his size and strength so that he would be able to play on the Toccoa High School football team, where he earned a position as first-team blocking back.

[5][7] Like his contemporary and future rival Doug Hepburn, Anderson quickly identified the squat as the most important exercise for developing strength.

Although handed a rare defeat at the contest by Canadian champion Doug Hepburn, Anderson set a new Junior National record in the clean and jerk with 382 lb (173.3 kg).

[10] These lifts were done under much stricter rules than today's weightlifting, where the bar was not permitted to come into contact with the athlete's body at any point during the snatch or clean.

On January 16, 1954, Anderson broke his other wrist at the Middle Atlantic Open in Philadelphia; this injury prevented him from competing again until mid-May.

Nonetheless, Anderson finished the 1954 season with a 1,070 lb (485.4 kg) total at the All Dixie Championships on December 11, nearly matching his personal best.

In an American newsreel the narrator, Bud Palmer, commented as follows: "Then, up to the bar stepped a great ball of a man, Paul Anderson."

But their snickers quickly changed to awe and all-out cheers as up went the bar and Anderson lifted the heaviest weight overhead of any human in history."

[14] Prior to Anderson's lift, the Soviet champion, Alexey Medvedev, had matched the Olympic record of the time with a 330.3 lb (149.8 kg) press.

At a time when Americans were engaged in a symbolic Cold War battle with the Soviet Union, Anderson's strength — and his singular, tank-like appearance — became a rallying cry to all.

[17] At the games, Anderson won a gold medal in a long, tough duel with Argentine Humberto Selvetti (while suffering from a 104 °F (40 °C) fever).

Although his popularity was at an all-time high after the Olympics, Anderson could not accept payment for his performances due to regulations governing athletes' amateur standing.

Anderson's act was broadcast on The Ed Sullivan Show to an audience of more than 40 million, in which he also broke his own record in the clean and press with 415 lb (188.2 kg).

The Soviet team won, but Anderson, making an appearance as a guest lifter, created a spectacle by cleaning and pressing 424.25 lb (192.9 kg) for two repetitions, barely missing a third.

They both helped to build and support the home with an average of 500 speaking engagements and strength exhibitions per year—notwithstanding the congenital chronic kidney disease that eventually killed him at age 61.

has also produced a comic booklet telling Anderson's story, which includes breaking a brick and stopping bank robbers.

Gallagher's earlier date (1955)[60] is disputed by Charles Poliquin, who places it after Paul turned professional following the 1956 Summer Olympics in December of that year.