Lifting stone

Lifting a stone at Harri-jasotzaileak event in the Basque Country

Lifting stones are heavy natural stones which people are challenged to lift, proving their strength. They are common throughout Northern Europe, particularly Iceland (where they are referred to as steintökin), Ireland, Scotland, Basque Country, Faroe Islands, Wales, North West England centered around Cumbria, Switzerland, Southern Germany centered around Bavaria, Austria, Scandinavia and also in the United States and parts of Asia such as Japan.[1][2][3][4]

Recently, lifting stones have been incorporated into the World's Strongest Man and other similar strongman competitions, using various cast, found, or established challenge stones such as the Húsafell Stone, Dinnie Stones, Steinstossen, Inver Stones and Odd Haugen Tombstone. They also do modernized versions of events derived from ancient contests, in which athletes load heavy circular stones onto a platform, known as Atlas stones.[5]

Famous lifting stones from around the world and the greatest stone lifters are listed below.

  1. ^ Saks, Aleksander (May 30, 2007). "A Brief History Of Stone Lifting - Culture Of Stone Lifting: Iceland & Scotland". Physical Culture Study.
  2. ^ Fisher, Grace (2023-03-02). "Discovery of women's lifting stone sheds light on Irish traditions". HerSport.ie. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
  3. ^ Strossen, Randall J. (March 31, 2015). "Martin Wildauer win the traditional stonelifting competition in Munich, Germany". IronMind Enterprises, Inc.
  4. ^ "Quick Directions for Known Stones". www.oldmanofthestones.com. 21 May 2015. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  5. ^ "How to make an Atlas Stone". bodyresults.com. Archived from the original on 2015-06-19. Retrieved 2015-06-18.