Grantown heavy is crowned king in the blazing sunshine in Hawaii
The Strathy was more than a little surprised to get an ‘Aloha’ from Hawaii - and even more so to learn it was news of Highland Games success.
Grantown heavy Andrew Murphie took part in a gathering with a difference at the weekend… and won.
Readers might think it was a bit on the early side for the the Highland Games but this competition was nearly on the other side of the world after-all…
At the invitation of the Hawaii Scotland Association, Murphie and fellow games athlete, Theo Pilkington, competed in the 41st Honolulu Scottish Festival and Games.
And the pair lived up to their billing with first and third place overall respectively.
The Hawaii games followed the traditional format of five heavy events involving hammer, weights and caber but with the added US event of sheaf tossing.
Murphie said after picking up his trophy: ‘It was a fantastic location. I never imagined I’d be doing this here but it’s a tough environment to compete in.
“It was 31 degrees Centigrade and they’ve got high humidity. We had to make sure we kept hydrated.’
The Hawaiian Scottish Festival and Highland Games took place on Saturday and from 9am to 4pm both days at Thomas Jefferson Elementary in Honolulu.
Find out more here on the games.
