Throwing rocks and trees in the mountains

FEATURE HOST INTRO:

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Today is Tuesday, July 30th.

Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day.

Good morning. I’m Mary Reichard.

LINDSAY MAST: And I’m Lindsay Mast.

Coming next on The World and Everything in It: the Scottish Olympics….in North Carolina!

Now, these games don’t receive the coverage of what’s going on in Paris right now…but still, competition reigns. Athletes compete in these Highland Games with rocks and trees instead of equipment.

REICHARD: WORLD'S Mary Muncy followed one athlete from practice to competition. Here's the story.

AUDIO: [Sound of practice]

MARY MUNCY: Greg Womack-Adams is throwing large rocks in the yard beside his condo in Raleigh, North Carolina.

GREG WOMACK-ADAMS: It’s the loneliest game of fetch.

He’s practicing for the 68th annual Grandfather Mountain Highland Games in North Carolina. Last year he got third at the tournament. This year he wants to win it.

WOMACK-ADAMS: Traditionally, there's nine different events.

The one he’s practicing now is like shot put but with a rock. The rock is about 20 pounds.

WOMACK-ADAMS: To win the day. You don't have to win every single event. You just have to be in the top three, typically throughout the day.

The Highland Games also include things like bagpipe competitions, a race, and dancing and it brings thousands of Scottish-Americans together.

Greg Womack-Adams is named for his grandmother’s McGregor clan and he wears the clan's colors red and green on his kilt when he competes.

WOMACK-ADAMS: I grew up about an hour south of there, so it just means a lot to me, and I've always wanted to win at Grandfather.

Womack is a 32-year-old, 6’3” 250-pound partly-Scottish man. He started competing in the Highland Games in a bagpiping band, but at one in 2016, he had time to compete with the band and try the athletics.

WOMACK-ADAMS: I was doing CrossFit at the time, and thought I was hot stuff. I was like, I can do that.

He did have plenty of experience throwing rocks, after all…

WOMACK-ADAMS: I've thrown rocks since I was a kid. But moving in that fashion to put that force on the implement, and then the weights themselves were just terrible. Terrible.

While Womack was out there, the other competitors gave him little tips on how to get better and he realized he wasn’t just throwing rocks in a field, he was joining a community.

ANNOUNCER: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome everyone to the 68th Grandfather Mountain Highland Games.

Womack walks onto the field wearing his kilt, neon green kneehigh socks, and cleats. He takes fourth in the first event and second in the next.

AUDIO: [CHEERING FOR GREG]

Some of his friends and his mom are on the sidelines. He heads over to grab a sandwich.

WOMACK-ADAMS: I'm not in the lead.

MUNCY: But it's two events.

WOMACK-ADAMS: It’s two events, yeah, and so now we're going to the distance events, and I'll pick up a lot of points there.

He eats a sandwich and heads back to the field.

He places in the top three in the next few events, but not first. A newer guy is taking first in a lot of the events. Then at about 3 o’clock in the afternoon it’s time for the hammer toss—one of Womack’s best events.

He puts on boots with stakes on the front to keep him anchored to the ground… then he warms up by swinging the 22-pound, 4-foot-long hammer in a circle around his head. They have to stay inside a box and toss the hammer as far as they can. He gets three attempts and the best one will count.

ANNOUNCER: Greg is up. Greg from Raleigh North Carolina, structural engineer.

He steps into the box and takes a deep breath. He swings the hammer around his head a few times, building speed. And then he almost falls and steps out of the box. One of his shoe stakes had come up.

He gets two more tries. They’re good, but not good enough, and he gets second place.

WOMACK-ADAMS: Did not fall on my face, did not stab myself with the knives on my boots, so that's a victory in and of itself.

But at this point, he’s not averaging high enough to win.

WOMACK-ADAMS: I'm at peace with it.

He gets second in the last event and helps his friends pack up before heading to the awards ceremony.

ANNOUNCER: Men’s B class open overall results, third Greg Womack-Adams.

It’s the same place he got last year.

WOMACK-ADAMS: Sometimes you just get bested, and then you just kind of have to live with that.

At his next games, he’ll be in a higher category… with even stiffer competition. But he’ll be back throwing with some of his friends that moved up before him.

WOMACK-ADAMS: I feel like I've reached that false horizon now. I'm like, Oh no, the peak was still still ahead.

He competes to win, but that’s not why he’s there.

WOMACK-ADAMS: Yeah, it's fun to throw rocks and trees in the field, but it's the people that make it fun.

He’ll keep training when he gets home. But for now, he’s going to go eat pasta with his friends and enjoy watching the pros compete tomorrow.

AUDIO: [CHANTING FOR GREG]

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Mary Muncy in Raleigh and Grandfather Mountain, North Carolina.

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