Nurse... Strong woman... Legend!
Super woman Leigh has made history
Taking a deep breath my mum Susie, 46, was getting psyched up. We were staying at a hotel in Scotland but, far from enjoying a relaxing break, Mum was facing one of the biggest challenges of her life.
She was attempting to lift the 332-kilo Dinnie Stones – two granite boulders that only one other woman in the world had ever managed to get off the ground.
As she prepared in front of the crowd, I picked up the smaller 144-kilo Dinnie Stone to get it into position for her.
There was a gasp from people watching.
‘Wow! That’s impressive,’ someone said. I frowned. It wasn’t that heavy!
As a strong woman competitor myself, I was pretty fit.
I’d been involved since I was 14, first watching
Mum and my stepdad, Lance, 43, compete, then flexing my own muscles.
Between my job as a nurse, I’d pulled cars, trucks and lifted huge weights, but I’d never tried anything like the Dinnie Stones.
The strength to pick them up by the iron ring moulded into the top, was very different to anything I’d trained for.
‘You should have a go at it,’ someone in the crowd suggested.
This was highly unusual. Mum needed to apply 30 days in advance to lift the stones, and she’d trained for months.
After Mum tried and sadly didn’t quite do it, she gave me the nod.
‘It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity,’ she smiled.
Getting the official okay, I gritted my teeth and grabbed the handles.
Then I lifted…
There were more gasps as I attempted to heave the stones off the ground, but in an instant I released them. ‘I couldn’t hold them,’ I breathed.
But with that single attempt, something had been ignited in me.
I have to lift those stones one day!
I thought.
Back home in Townsville, I threw myself into training.
I borrowed some weight plates with handles on and started lifting 140 kilos, then 150 and soon 160.
I added dumbbells and other things from my garage
to try and get to the magic 188-kilo mark of the biggest stone.
But even with all that, I couldn’t quite make up the weight.
It meant that when I arrived in Scotland eight months later, in August this year, I’d only lifted 172 kilos.
I know I can do the extra bit, I thought.
This time, as I walked towards the stones, it was a very different feeling.
Around 600 people were watching and I had a sense that today was the day I’d make history.
As I grasped the iron rings, calm came over me.
You can do this, I told myself, shutting my eyes and bending my knees.
Pulling upwards with all my might, the stones lifted off the ground.
It was only for a few seconds but when I released them and opened my eyes the three white referee flags were waving to say I’d been successful.
The crowd was going wild and Mum jumped on me!
‘Well done,’ she laughed. ‘You’ve done it!’
And I had!
I was only the second woman – and the first in 39 years – to lift the Dinnie Stones!
And only 90 men had ever managed it, since 1953.
The media went wild and I was in newspapers and TV all over the world.
She must’ve been on steroids, some of the comments read.
There’s no way a woman could lift those.
It made my blood boil.
I’d never touch drugs.
How dare people say that? I fumed.
But I realised I couldn’t let them get to me. Instead, I focused on the feeling I’d got from my achievement.
It made me want to go professional and my next goal is the Strongman
Games in the US next year.
You can be strong and have fun, I tell my followers on Instagram.
The training is great for mental health too and my other aim is to help get more women into the sport by opening a gym to train them.
I’m so happy to be leading the way for women in such a traditionally male area.
I’ve proved you need strength inside and out
– and that’s what makes a truly strong woman!