Highland Games Archives - www.oldtimestrongman.com

Vince Gironda Tossing The Caber

Posted on Wednesday, June 19th, 2019 by John Wood

Here’s something you don’t see every day: “The Iron Guru” Vince Gironda tossing the caber. Vince was, of course, well-known in bodybuilding circles but he had other talents as well. In the early 1970’s he used to get a gang together every Saturday morning to practice tossing the caber and other heavy events in order to represent Vince’s Gym at the annual Los Angeles Highland Games held at Corsair Field at Santa Monica City College.

Steve Pulcinella

Posted on Monday, March 12th, 2018 by John Wood

Steve Pulcinella, shown above flipping a car over in the 1994 World’s Strongest Man competition in Sun City Africa, is one of America’s greatest strength athletes. He entered his first powerlifting contest at 14 years old and over the next eight years, won four Pennsylvania State Powerlifting Championships, two Pennsylvania State Region II Powerlifting titles, and placed second in the USPF teenage national championships.

In 1993, Pulcinella won Virginia’s Strongest Man and the North America’s Strongest Man competition which lead to him being included in the a fore-mentioned World’s Strongest Man competition in South Africa. Shortly after, Pulcinella began competing in Highland Games competitions all over the world, winning over 40 professional titles over the course of his career including the prestigious International Pro Highland Games competition at Loon Mountain in Lincoln, New Hampshire.

Among his best marks are: squat: 755 lbs. (w/belt and knee wraps), deadlift: 765lbs power clean: 420 lbs., power snatch: 310 lbs, jerk (from a rack) 440 lbs., bench press: 505 lbs., 56 lb. weight for height: 17’6”(standing). Pulcinella currently runs one of the best gyms in the country “Iron Sport Gym” in Glenolden, Pennsylvania. You can learn more about Steve Pulcinella and his unique training methods HERE

Strength From The Highlands: Weight Over Bar

Posted on Thursday, November 9th, 2017 by John Wood

Another great even in the Highland Games is the “Weight Over Bar.” Just like it sounds, a 56 pound weight is tossed as high as possible with a “good” throw clearing the crossbar above. Shown here is Paul Bidwell, successfully clearing 16 feet on his third attempt at the 10th annual Delaware Highland Games in Fair Hill, MD on June 5th, 1971 (a new World Record at the time.)

Strength From The Highlands: Scottish Hammer Throwing

Posted on Thursday, June 16th, 2016 by John Wood

The Scottish Hammer is an event in traditional Highland Games Heavy Athletics. The ‘Hammer’ itself is a length of rattan or wood with a weighted spherical head. There are actually two different types of Scottish Hammer records kept: heavy and light. For Men, the heavy hammer weighs 22 pounds and the light hammer weighs in at 16 pounds.) For Women, the heavy hammer is 16 pounds and the light hammer is 12 pounds.

The Hammer is wound around the body and thrown from a standing position. An interesting modern development is that athletes now wear boots with long spikes in them to anchor themselves to the ground which allows them to generate more rotational force.

The current World records are as follows:

Men’s Heavy Hammer: Daniel McKim: 132′ 2.75″
Men’s Light Hammer: Daniel McKim: 157′ 7.25″

Women’s Heavy Hammer: Valerie Adams: 99′ 1″
Women’s Light Hammer: Shannon Hartnett: 120′ 1″

Strength From The Highlands: Caber Tossing

Posted on Wednesday, June 15th, 2016 by John Wood

Caber tossing is one of the most famous events at the Scottish Highland Games. A caber is a log, usually made of pine or larch, which the competitor stands upright and then hoists end over end. Scoring is not based on height or distance thrown but how closely their throws approximate the ideal 12 o’clock toss on an imaginary clock. If successful, the athlete is said to have “turned” the caber.

If no one can ‘turn’ a particular caber, it can be cut down a bit to give a better opportunity to do so but a caber that has been successfully turned remains intact from that point forward. Since cabers are made from natural wood, each one differs in length, weight, taper, and balance, offering a unique challenge.

Donald Dinnie: “The Nineteenth Century’s Greatest Athlete”

Posted on Tuesday, April 29th, 2014 by John Wood

Donald Dinnie

Donald Dinnie, the Scottish strongman, wrestler and Highland Games athlete has been widely recognized as “The Nineteenth Century’s Greatest Athlete.” It’s not hard to understand why, Dinnie excelled in nearly every sporting event he took part in whether running, hurdles, the long jump, hammer throwing, putting the stone, caber tossing and wrestling (just to name a few.) Over his career, Dinnie took part in over 11,000 different competitions, among them, the Scottish Highland Games Championships, of which he won for two decades straight: every year from 1856 through 1876.