From Allan W. Eckert’s The Frontiersmen, a narrative of the life of Kentucky Frontiersman Simon Kenton.
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Back in 1860, a Scotsman named Donald Dinnie picked up a pair of stones used for counterweights in bridge maintenance on the Potarch Bridge in Aberdeenshire. He carried them across the bridge, a distance of 17-feet-1-1⁄2 inches. Because, well, because….
Ever since, the stones have been called the Dinnie Stones. The stones were lost for a while, then found again in 1953. In recent years, strongman competitors have made a pilgrimage to lift the stones, which weigh in combination 733 pounds. Lifting and carrying events using replica Dinnie Stones have become part of international Strongman competitions. And the women are in on the action, too.
Last weekend, the Dinnie Stones were at the center of the action at the Arnold Strongman Classic in Columbus, Ohio. The 140-pound Chloe Brennan amazed — and charmed — the world with her lift. Her reaction to her successful lift and hold on her third attempt is delightful.
The Farmer’s Carry of the Dinnie Stones saw Strongman Kevin Faires utterly shatter the previous record, exceeding it by nearly 10 feet.
Jake Dickson at Barbend.com writes:
On Mar. 6, 2022, strongman athlete and World’s Strongest Man (WSM) finalist Kevin Faires made history during the first implementation of the Dinnie Stone carry at the Rogue Record Breakers (RRB) exhibition. Faires carried the stones with confidence right into a new world-record distance of 25 feet, eight inches.
lane batot says
I still lift rocks for exercise during my woods rambles(and LOTS of rocks to choose from, in the Uwharrie Mountains of Central North Carolina! A VERY rocky place!). I have no idea what most of them weigh for sure, but I can look at a rock and say, with some degree of accuracy, “That’s a 10 repper”, or “That’s a 20 repper”, etc.–or perhaps “I don’t know, that un’s purty big–maybe a 5 repper?”…..
JimC says
Outstanding.