It was called by Guinness World Records "The Greatest Lift in History."
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| Press clipping, publication unknown. .Article by Tim Cobb. |
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| Alternate photo not used by press. |
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On 6th November 1988 Dave Gauder & Chris Oskys lifted an 8 tonne double decker bus off it's wheels outside of the London Transport Museum in Covent Garden. Chris Oskys was the 1986 British Bodybuliding Champion whilst Dave Gauder had already pulled Concorde a year earlier & held four world records.
Lifting a bus is not as simple as bending over, grabbing hold of the bumpers or bodywork & standing up straight again.
For a lift to be recorded & safe for all involved some thought has to be given to the logistics of a potentially unstable 8 tonne load & people watching nearby. A scaffolding frame was built with a platform for the men to stand on & tested by Simon Bancroft to make sure it could take the weight:
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| Scaffolding being erected around a double decker bus ready for the big lift. |
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| Straps are put in place to support the weight of the bus equally. |
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| (?) & Chris Oskyss |
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| Tina & Dave Gauder |
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| Pressures sensors wired up for the record attempt |
| Up on the scaffold, Dave & Chris had to squat the weight upwards at the same time on a purpose made contraption resembling a hack squat machine. |
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| Dave Gauder & Chris Oskys with the squat frame that they would use to lift the bus. |
Friends & family of the two men had their photos taken with Chris & Dave before the event.
On the day of the lift a considerable crowd gathered to witness the event.
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| This chap is having a go at lifting instead of Dave. |
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| Dave is given some encouraging slaps by his second... |
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| Dave ready to lift... |
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| ...lifting... |
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| ...almost there... |
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| ..Chris Oskys with his half of the bus supported on his shoulders... |
Officials from Guinness World records were unsure after the lift had
been completed whether the pressure sensors underneath each wheel were
working properly, so asked for the lift to be done again. Breaking that
news to Chris & Dave would not be a job many would wish for.
Of course, they lifted again. The photographer had a different angle this time, focused more on Chris than Dave. On the second
lift an official stationed at each wheel had a piece of card that had to
be slid under each of the wheels.
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| Start of lift two... |
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| ...Chris & Dave starting to straighten up... |
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| ...almost there... |
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| ...8 tonnes of bus lifted. |
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| Dave Gauder & Chris Oskys celebrate their new record. |
It was recorded as a World record & a certificate issued signed by Donald McFarlan & Norris McWhirter.
Strength Athlete Magazine later named Dave on it's front cover as being "the strongest man who ever lived."
There have been some that doubted that the bus lift ever happened,
but there were a lot of people who were there, as well as the officials
& media. Imagine the coverage if it were done now? No one has beaten
- or attempted to beat the record since (as far as we know). If it ever is replicated or beaten - well Dave & Chris did it first.
