from all across the UK to attempt to lift this mammoth stone. In 2015 there was one successful lift of the 28 stone Goliath. Basque Country Stone lifting is also a traditional Basque Country sport involving the lifting of stones, called harri jasotzea. There are several varieties, particularly using round stones and rectangular ones. The goal can be raising and dropping a stone of certain weight as many times as possible or simply raising a heavy stone once in order to beat an existing record. Another Basque sport is the ontzi eramatea, where the weights were originally milk canisters prior to stones. United States and other stone carrying variants Just like traditional Scottish and Icelandic 'stone walk' or 'stone carry', athletic events involving carrying of large stones down the field of competition has become very popular in the sport of Strongman notably in the US, with several variations being used. The rules are quite simple: the competitors each pick up a pair of very heavy stones equipped with iron handles, and carry the paired stones as far down the field as they can. The length of the field varies depending on the site. This event is also known as the farmer's walk. Another popular variation is shouldering large stones. Loon Stones At the Loon Mountain Highland Games in New Hampshire, there's a popular ancient farmers walk event with a pair of stones which weighs and respectively. The event probably originated as an outgrowth of the need to clear stones from agricultural fields to create clearance cairns. In 2015, Iceland's Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson made a guest appearance and carried the stones for 140' 6" for a new world record. Odd Haugen's Tombstone Norwegian Strongman Odd Haugen was gifted with a oval shaped stone on his 58th birthday and since has featured at the Arnold Strongman Classic a number of times in the Stone to Shoulder event. Only 8 Strongmen (Marunde, Licis, Kieliszkowski, Shivlyakov, Björnsson, Belsak, Thompson and Novikov) have lifted this stone to their shoulder. Notable stone lifters Below table summarizes the 10 greatest stone lifters in Strongman history. No. of total career stone events against the No. of wins. See also Chikaraishi, the Japanese equivalent Stone put Strongman (strength athlete) History of physical training and fitness References Stones Scottish folklore Scandinavian folklore Northumbrian folklore Strongmen competitions Scottish games