A Scottish rugby hero will take on a legendary weightlifting challenge to fund research into the rare form of breast cancer that killed his sister.
Alasdair Strokosch is training to try and lift the Dinnie Stones in Potarch, Aberdeenshire, in memory of his sister Marianne, who died aged 36 two years ago.
As well as lifting the famously heavy stones, the Rugby World Cup star wants to raise cash and awareness for the Inflammatory Breast Cancer Network UK, a charity which helps to create treatments for the disease.
Next month, former player and current S&C coach Alasdair Strokosch and colleague Luke Vella will attempt to lift the historic 332kg Dinnie Stones in aid of charity. ?
Watch Al's story ?⤵ pic.twitter.com/n1KgA4ekjg
— Edinburgh Rugby (@EdinburghRugby) July 4, 2019
The pair of granite boulders were named in honour of historic strongman Donald Dinnie, who is said to have carried them both across the 17ft width of Potarch Bridge in 1860.
Together, the Dinnie Stones have a combined weight of 733lbs.
Mr Strokosch, who played in the 2011 and 2015 World Cup tournaments for the national team, is now a strength and conditioning coach with the Edinburgh professional side.
The former back-row forward said he has always taken an interest in strongman and Highland Games traditions.
He has also convinced his colleague Luke Vella and Scotland’s most-capped male player Ross Ford to take on the world-famous challenge on Saturday, August 24.
The 36-year-old posted a video on social media site Twitter explaining his motivation for taking on the task.
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He said: “I’ve always been interested, even when I was playing, in the strength side of things.
“I’ve always liked the Highland Games and things like that, and got really into the history of them.
“We’re aiming to raise money for charity first of all.
“The charity is quite special for me, because my sister passed away a couple of years ago from that type of breast cancer, which is really rare and really aggressive.
“She fought hard for two years as she battled it, and that was a charity which really helped her through it a lot.
“It’s the only charity in the UK dedicated to that type of breast cancer, so all the help they can get to stop other people going through what Marianne went through is brilliant.”
Inflammatory Breast Cancer is a rare and highly fatal form of breast cancer which is not typically discovered by mammogram, and often occurs prior to standard breast cancer screening age recommendations.
Donate: bit.ly/DinSton