Stone Lifting / Stone Carry
Stone lifting takes place throughout Scotland, Wales, Iceland and other Northern European countries, involving heavy local stones that serve as a test of strength for the locals and any competitors.
The stones used often had no modifications to them, were very heavy, and used as a show or test of strength. Some of the stones are so heavy that only legends have been said to have lifted them; there has been no documented or eye-witnessed account of anyone ever lifting them.
In recent times, various casts have been used to make stones for the World’s Strongest Man competitions. The competitors in the event often compete by loading the heaviest stone onto a stone wall. The event is designed to reflect old stone wall building techniques.
In addition to the stone lift, there is a variety of different carrying styles. The stone carry or stone walk is a Scottish and Icelandic athletic traditional involving an athlete carrying large stones down a field. The rule is simple, competitors pick up a pair of heavy stones equipped with a handle and carry them as far down the field as they can. If competitors can carry the stones all the way down the field, heavier stones are used in a subsequent round.
Interested Fact: The sport is thought to have emerged from a farmer’s need to clear stones from his field to plant his crop.
Similar Sports
- Shot put — the track and field event where the participants throw a heavy metal ball for maximum distance.
- Power Lifting — tests of strength on three lifts: dead lift, bench press and squat.
- Weight Throw — a family of heavy weight throwing events, in which the objective is to either throw the weight as far as possible or as high as possible.
- Strongman — a sport that tests competitors' strength in a variety of different ways.
Related Pages
- About the Scottish Highland Games
- List of weight lifting sports
- Complete list of sports
- The Encyclopedia of Sports
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