A month ago, Icelander Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, the man who plays “The Mountain” on HBO’s Game of Thrones, which was partially filmed in Iceland, broke a 1,000-year-old record to become the “World’s Strongest Viking” with the lift of 13-foot, 1,320-pound wooden log. Clearly, Björnsson hasn’t allowed his acting gig to distract him from his other job, which is to become the strongest man in the world.
Björnsson took part in his first World’s Strongest Man competition after earning a wild card invitation to the 2011 contest, coming in 6th overall in that year’s competition. He then placed 3rd in the 2012 and 2013 competitions and 2nd in 2014.
Bjornsson, who is 6’9″ and around 420 pounds, also competed in the 2015 Arnold Strongman Classic and broke yet another world record by throwing a 56-pound kettlebell over a 19’3″ bar (because Arnold Schwarzenegger wanted him to, of course). Despite breaking this world record, he unfortunately did not win this year’s title of “World’s Strongest Man.”
Recent posts on his Instagram account show that he was a bit upset about his overall performance and the fact that he did not take home this year’s title. He states that he “had ups & downs at the Arnold Strongman Classic this past weekend. I did an awful mistake in the deadlift which cost me a lot of points! Yesterday made me feel a little bit better though. I did a weight for height event on the main stage. I went over 19’3 with a 56 lbs weight and that is a New World Record!!”
Keep an eye out for Bjornsson as he works to claim the title “World’s Strongest Man” in 2016.
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