Canadian heavy events fans had a lot to cheer about this past weekend, as reported by Francis Brebner.


The Glengarry Highland Games by Francis Brebner

It was another big weekend for Canadian heavy events, with major competitions held at the Glengarry Highland Games in Maxville, Ontario, on Saturday and the Montreal Highland Games on Sunday.

In Maxville, in front of Canada's largest heavy events crowd of 20,000 people, Greg Hadley bested a field of 11 competitors to win the overall title. Four-time world masters champion Dirk Bishop, from Perth-Andover, New Brunswick, settled for second, with Markus Wand of Ontario, third.

Events at Glengarry began with the 22-lb. open stone putt. The Glengarry stone is known around the world for its difficulty, but there were still good distances thrown. Hadley won the event with a toss of 39' 11", about a foot and a half under his field record. Christoph Wand from Ontario sat at second with a throw of 36' 2", and Markus Wand came in third.

After the stone, rain clouds began to slide in and a downpour ensued. That didn't stop the athletes as they moved into the hammers. Hadley took first place honors in the 22-lb. hammer with a throw of 106' 4". Bishop was second at 102' 1".

Hadley also won the 16-lb. hammer with a best mark of 133' 2". Bishop hit 125', which was good for a seasonal best.

The weight for distance saw Hadley throw 41' 2" in the heavy weight for first place, and Dirk Bishop at 36' 7", mere inches under his personal best for second place.

The light weight, thrown in heavy rain, was won by Markus Wand, who hit a personal best distance of 73' 4". Hadley and Bishop followed in second and third, respectively.

Christoph Wand won the 56-lb. weight for height, clearing 15'.

The 16-lb. sheaf toss was a real show. Markus Wand won the event, hitting a massive 37'. He then took attempts at the world record of 39' 9" and was mere inches short.

The caber saw Bishop, Wand and Hadley go one, two, three. The caber was 21' and 100 lb.

The overall placings were Greg Hadley, first; Dirk Bishop, second; Markus Wand, third; and Christoph Wand, fourth.

The Montreal Highland Games, held the following day and also in heavy rain, were won by Greg Hadley. Markus Wand turned in a big performance to finish second, while Dirk Bishop came third.