A Canadian first on Scottish soil
Canada has a new name to add to the record books of strength sport: Laurie MacDougall Sookraj. She became the first Canadian woman to lift the legendary Dinnie Stones, a pair of granite handling stones weighing a combined 332.5 kilograms (about 733 pounds), at the Aboyne Highland Games in Scotland.
MacDougall Sookraj spoke to CBC's The National about the moment she hoisted the stones, an achievement that places her among a small, elite group of athletes worldwide who have managed the feat.
What makes the Dinnie Stones so tough
The Dinnie Stones aren't just heavy — they're notoriously awkward. Unlike a barbell or a standard strongman implement, the stones have no handles, just iron rings bolted into the granite, and lifters have to grip and haul them off the ground using nothing but raw grip strength and full-body coordination. The stones are named after Donald Dinnie, a 19th-century Scottish strongman famous for carrying them across a bridge in Aberdeenshire in 1860. Since then, lifting them has become one of the most storied benchmarks in strongman and strength-athlete circles, attracting competitors from around the globe who travel to Scotland specifically to attempt the lift.
Successfully lifting both stones simultaneously is considered one of the ultimate tests of grip and total-body strength, and relatively few athletes — man or woman — have ever managed it. That MacDougall Sookraj pulled it off at the Aboyne Highland Games, a Scottish Highland Games event steeped in tradition, adds another layer of significance to the accomplishment.
A moment worth celebrating
MacDougall Sookraj's achievement is being recognized as a landmark moment for Canadian women in strength sports, a discipline that has seen growing participation and visibility in recent years. Her success at Aboyne puts her name alongside a short list of history-making lifters and signals the kind of international recognition Canadian athletes can earn in niche but deeply respected competitive traditions.
While the lift took place an ocean away in Scotland, it's the kind of story that resonates with Canadians across the country who follow strength sports, from local powerlifting meets to internationally recognized feats like this one. Achievements like MacDougall Sookraj's often inspire a new wave of interest in strongman and strength training among Canadians looking to test their own limits.
Source: CBC News
