Ben lifts 52st to complete challenge
Firefighter hoists famous Dinnie Stones
A Stirling firefighter displayed extraordinary strength in successfully completing a legendary 52–stone weightlifting challenge.
Ben Carlin made the trip north to attend The Gathering at Potarch, Aboyne, and take on the iconic Dinnie Stones.
Burly crew manager Ben, who is based at Stirling fire station and lives in Longcroft, Denny, managed to hoist a 188kg stone (about 415lbs) with one hand whilst also lifting another 144kg (317lbs) with his other hand – totalling an incredible 52 stone or 332kg.
Every year strongmen and women flock to The Gathering in a bid to add their name to the list of people to complete the lift and this year’s event took place on August 5.
The stones are named after legendary Scottish strongman, Donald Dinnie and are two giant granite boulders which competitors must lift in a series of challenges.
In the 1830s huge iron rings were attached to the stones so that they could act as counterweights for scaffolding during the maintenance of Potarch Bridge.
In 1860, Donald Dinnie famously carried them both across the bridge – a distance of over 17ft.
Fewer than 90 people have been able to complete an unassisted lift since 1860. However, 23 of the 46 who attended earlier this month managed to meet the challenge.
Ben, who weighs in at over 17 stone and stands 6ft 2in, said: “I watched the documentary ‘Rogue Fitness’ and it included information about the Dinnie Stones and I immediately fancied a shot.
“I had been preparing for it for quite a while by doing things like deadlifts.”
The stones can be lifted both assisted – with specialised hand wraps to grip the ring – or unassisted – with the bare hand.
The married father of two added: “I’ve always been naturally pretty strong and I’ve got very good grip strength and back strength. I suppose that’s the benefit of being a firefighter. All of the team at Stirling have been really supportive of me.
“You need to lift both stones off the ground and hold them for at least two seconds to register a lift.
“There are other events where you need to lift the stones and cover a distance. On the same day someone managed to walk the stones about seven feet.
“The training starts now for me to have a go at that next year.
“The stones are achievable by anyone if they train hard and use the proper technique.”
Competitors travelled from as a far afield as Australia, USA, Canada and Greece to take part.
“As a Scotsman I’m proud to add my name to the list of men who have achieved the lift,” added Ben.
The challenge went unanswered for over 100 years until 1972, when Belfast’s Jack Shanks, weighing just 11 and a half stone, successfully hoisted the giant boulders with his bare hands.
To date the Dinnie Stones have only ever been lifted and carried over the distance barehanded by a handful of men, including Dinnie himself in 1860, Shanks in 1973, professional strongman competitor Mark Felix, Brian Irwin from Belfast and Mark Haydock from Preston.
Go to the Observer’s website, www.stirlingobserver. co.uk to see film of Ben lifting the famous stones.