One of East Kilbride’s strongest men has his eyes on the prize at this weekend’s
Standing at 6ft 4 inches tall and weighing in 123 kilos (19 stone) Polish man mountain Lucasz Wenta is the shot put star of the competition.
The 40-year-old Caber Tossing World Champion, who lives in Westwood with his wife Domicela and two daughters, told the East Kilbride News he is undergoing a gruelling training regime in the lead up to Sunday’s Heavyweight events – three hours in the gym, six days a week. And he believes there are only three competitors who have the strength to beat him.
He said: “English Olympian Scott Rider, who I have competed with from the very beginning of my career in Scotland, and European champion Vladislav Tulacek from the Czech Republic who I have been competing with for three years.
“And a young, promising Scotsman, Kyle Randalls.
“I am always waiting impatiently for every event. I love sport and competitions.”
Lucasz’s sporting career began from an early age in his native Poland.”
With both his parents successful athletes – his dad a bullet thrower and his mum a swimmer – and his brother Sebastian, one of the world’s greatest strongmen, it was inevitable Lucasz would follow in his family’s footsteps.
He explained: “I was a shot put and discus thrower.
“I was a multiple medallist at the Polish Championships and I represented my country at international competitions such as the 1998 World Junior Championships in Annecy, France, where I won seventh place with the score of 17.12 metres.
"I also had a throw of 18.84 metres in the shot put at the 2001 European under-23 Championships in Amsterdam.
“I have a lot of shot put records but my personal best is a throw of 19 metres in competition.”
Lucasz also holds the official Scottish Highland Games Association (SHGA) record for 56lb weight over the bar, with a height of 17ft 3ins taking the record from Kyrylo Chuprynin from Ukraine by one inch.
He added: “My brother Sebastian was invited to Scotland by Games organiser
“He mentioned the games that take place and I wanted to take part. At the beginning I only came here to compete – from 2008 to 2011 – but my wife fell in love with Scotland and we decided to stay. We found work and settled in East Kilbride and in 2015 I became a father.”
At this year’s Carmunnock Highland Games, Lucasz will competing in: 16lb stone putting, 28lb weight throw, tossing the caber, 56lb weight for height and the sheaf toss.
