On Aug. 7, 2021, strongman Laurence Shahlaei set a new Dinnie Stones world record by carrying them for 14 feet, 10 inches (4.52 meters) without lifting straps, also known as “unassisted.” Shahlaei performed the lift in Potarch, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, where the stones reside.
The Dinnie Stones are made of granite and have a combined weight of 332 kilograms (733.1 pounds). What makes lifting and farmer’s carrying them quite difficult is that they are not of equal weight. Here are the weights for each stone and which hand Shahlaei used to lift them:
Laurence Shahlaei — Dinnie Stones
- Stone One, left hand — 144.5 kilograms (318.6 pounds)
- Stone Two, right hand — 188 kilograms (414.5 pounds)
Check out the video below from Shahlaei’s YouTube channel wherein he gets a feel for the Dinnie Stones with a deadlift before making a pair of walking attempts — the latter of which scored a new world record:
Shahlaei was onsite with the current world record holder for the longest unassisted Dinnie Stone static hold — England’s Mark Haydock. Haydock lifted the stones and held them for 46.30 seconds on May 18, 2019. Haydock is one of five men to match the feat of Donald Dinnie, who — as legend has it — carried the Dinnie Stones across the Potarch Bridge in 1860.
History of Dinnie Stone Lifts
Thus far, only 106 individuals have been recorded lifting the Dinnie Stones — five of which were women. Three of those women lifted the stones using lifting straps — Jan Todd in 1979, Australia’s Leigh Holland-Keen lifted the stones via Jefferson squat on Aug. 5, 2018, and three-time World’s Strongest Woman (WSW) champion Donna Moore at the 2019 Donald Dinnie Games. Only two women have ever lifted the stones unassisted — Emmajane Smith was the first, and Finland’s Annika Eilmann was the second.
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Shahlaei’s new world record beat the previous one held by four-time World’s Strongest Man (WSM) champion Brian Shaw. The 2021 WSM runner-up walked the stones 11 feet, 6.5 inches (3.52 meters) while filming “The Strongest Man in History” for the History channel alongside Nick Best, Robert Oberst, and 2017 WSM champion Eddie Hall. Check out Shaw’s lift in the video below from his YouTube channel:
It is not clear from the above video if Shaw still had more in the tank. Judging from his attempt, he only seemed to walk as far as he needed to secure the world record. With Shahlaei beating out Shaw’s record by three feet, 3.5 inches — a 31.2 percent increase — it is unclear if this new record is too far a reach if another elite strongman were to dedicate their training to break it.
However, Shahlaei is the new king of the Dinnie Stones. We look forward to learning which strongman will be next to challenge for that title.
Featured image: @biglozwsm on Instagram