Deeside contest to feature in Schwarzenegger festival
IT was a legendary feat of strength that entered Deeside folklore and remained unmatched for nearly 100 years.
Now the fabled Dinnie Stones competition will take centre stage at Hollywood legend Arnold Schwarzenegger’s US strongman festival, which is one of the biggest of its kind in the world.
The 2017 Arnold Sports Festival, which takes place annually in Columbus, Ohio, will feature a Dinnie Stone “lift and hold” competition when it is held between March 2 and March 5.
The historic “steens” made their way into the history books after legendary Birse strongman, Donald Dinnie, carried them the width of the Potarch Bridge over the River Dee in 1860.
His achievement has inspired hundreds of strongmen to flock to Deeside to lift the boulders, which together weigh 733lbs.
Belfast man, Jack Shanks, is credited with being the first person to lift and then carry the two massive stones unassisted exactly the same distance as Dinnie did, a feat the policeman achieved in 1973.
His son, Stevie Shanks, then fulfilled a lifelong ambition in 2015 by lifting the stones in Aboyne Green after overcoming Guillain-Barre Syndrome.
Mr Shanks Jnr has since dedicated much of his time to spreading the word of the Dinnie Steens, even setting up a website which records every successful lift of them throughout history.
He is one of just a handful of lifters that has been invited to the Arnold Sports Festival to take part in the challenge on US soil.
The event – which includes the Arnold Classic, an expo and a number of bodybuilding, strongman and other sporting events – was established by the movie star in 1989. It is the largest health and fitness event in the US.
The Dinnie Steen contest will feature replicas made by the late Gordon Dinnie, which have been shipped to the US.
Mr Shanks Jnr, 53, who at 156lbs weighs around a fifth of the two stones combined, will be competing against famous strongman, Odd Haugen.
Among the other wellknown faces competing at other events during the festival is Hafthor Bjornsson, famed for his role as The Mountain in Game of Thrones.