A sunny day, a Highland Games celebrating its 172nd consecutive year, and a close battle between Bruce Robb and Craig Sinclair—that was the situation at Scotland's Tomintoul Highland Games, and Francis Brebner has filed a report with IronMind.

2013 Tomintoul Highland Games:  Robb and Sinclair Seesaw for the Win
by Francis Brebner

The 2013 Tomintoul Highland Games in Scotland celebrated its 172nd consecutive Games this past weekend with a packed crowd of more than 3,500 spectators, who flocked to watch the heavy athletes have at it on a freakishly sunny day of 28 degrees C (82 degrees F).
 
The lineup included most of Scotland’s top throwers, such as Craig Sinclair, Bruce Robb, Kyle Randalls, Jamie Gunn, and Craig’s brother, Grant Sinclair, but to name a few.
 
In the 16-lb. light hammer, Randalls took the win with an impressive throw of 135’ 6”.  Second equal were James Dawkins and Robb at 131’ 7”, but the big surprise was C. Sinclair placing only fourth in his specialty event, with a throw of 130’ 9”.  The hot weather conditions can cause the hands to sweat, making it hard on the athlete’s confidence while turning at top speed.
 
In the 22-lb. hammer, C. Sinclair’s confidence kicked in and he lashed out a whopping throw of 120’ 9” for the win, with Randalls in second place at 118’ and Robb in third at 114’.
 
C. Sinclair won the following event, the 16-lb. light stone, as well with a putt of 51’ 6”; in second place was Robb with 50’ 10” and in third Randalls with 41’.
 
The 22-lb. heavy stone was a close tussle between Robb and C. Sinclair, with the win going to Robb’s 44’ 1”.  C. Sinclair trailed closely at 43’ 3” and in third place was Gunn at 36’ 3”.  Jamie Gunn is a third generation thrower and the son of renowned Alistair Gunn, former World Highland Games champion and one of the world’s best hammer throwers of his day.
 
The 28-lb. weight-for-distance was again very close between Robb and C. Sinclair, with Robb pulling out the winning throw of 81’ 9”, edging out C. Sinclair at 80’ 9”.  Gunn placed third with a respectable 64’.
 
The next event, the Scottish 56-lb. Weight-for-Distance Championships was up for grabs, and Robb earned the title with a throw of 45’ 2”.  C. Sinclair took second with 42’ 9” and Gunn was third at 30’ 6”.
 
In the 56-lb. weight-over-bar, C. Sinclair was back on top with a height of 15’; second was Robb at 14’ 6”, and third place as a tie between G. Sinclair and Randalls at 14’.
 
In the final event with the 125-lb., 19’-long caber with very little taper, Robb was the victor with a toss of 12:08, followed by C. Sinclair at 11:50.
 
Top Three
1.  Bruce Robb
2.  Craig Sinclair
3.  Kyle Randalls

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