Ryan Vierra; World Highland Games Champion

Ive been extremely fortunate to have won 5 World Championships and runner up 6 times. 11 US National Championships and over 250+ Game wins. The titles are all great, but nothing compares to memories of competing with the athletes, traveling the world and meeting wonderful people along the way. The throwing world has blessed me in so many ways and I’m truly grateful for all the experiences this sport has given me!

3. Did you find correlation or transfer in your time and observing now between the highland games and the track and field throwing events?

Highland games requires you to manage more of your time for training as it involves more events. Although I competed in all the throwing events in T&F the comparison is much different and your approach must be planned out with a little more detail or you will get injured with the nature of the HG events. Both sports demand a lot of time and focus on speed and strength combined with excellent mental preparation. Theres no short cut in this process!

Those who have competed with me might think my answer would be the weight throws or hammers but, over my 25 years competing I have developed a love hate relationship with the Caber Toss. I spent nearly 15 of those years hating the event and desperately trying to figure it out until 2004 when it all came together with some help from a fellow competitor Mike Smith. From that point on I came to really enjoy the event. Not just because It easy to perform, but rather the long journey to overcome this complex event.

The Caber consist of a wooden pole that ranges in weight from 120lbs to 165lbs and 18 to 23 feet in length (For Pros). The objective of the event is to pick it up from a virtual position and then advance forward with a jog or run in a straight line. Once you establish the desired speed you want to take your pull you then plant both feet simultaneously while keeping your torso in the upright position to allow for a dynamic vertical lift and extension. This position requires a lot of core strength and stability to create the proper timing to be successful in this demanding event. To score this event imagine planting your feet on the 6 o’clock position on the imaginary clock face with the top of the Caber, which is being flipped end over end, lands in the middle of the clock face and falls directly straight through at the 12 o’clock position. This would be considered a perfect toss. It is scored from 9 to 3 o’clock. If the Caber doesn’t pass through the vertical 90 degree plain then it’s scored on degrees.

5. What is your favourite moment/achievement through your highland games career?

Although I have had many great moments over my career that were very special to me like winning my first Worlds and tossing the winning throw at the 2008 Royal Braemar Games in front of the Queen. I always look back to that day where I was sitting in second place going in to the last event after getting my ass handed to me most of the two day competition by Petur Gudmundsson from Iceland at the 2000 Celtic Classic in Pennsylvania. The event used the decathlon score system that didn’t allow for many mistakes and every inch counted. I was trailing Petur by something like 120 points going in to the 28lbs Weight for distance. I needed to throw 12ft farther than him to win the championships. This looked to be impossible with the way he was throwing at the moment. In short, I was able to pull out a 92+ throw to go 14ft up on him. It was a great feel to pull out come back throw when I needed it. Those are the moments I cherish in sports more than winning itself! It’s overcoming adversity that drives me to success, not winning!

We thank you Ryan for your time and hope your answers give an insight into the other side of throwing, the highland games!