'The Mountain' Hafthor Bjornsson Wins Throwing Event at Arnold Sports Festival

Hafthor Bjornsson, best known for his role as The Mountain on HBO's Game of Thrones, got off to a strong start at the 2018 Arnold Sports Festival Strongman Classic with his efforts in the bag-over-bar throw and the stone shoulder.

Competing against last year's Strongman Classic champion Brian Shaw, Bjornsson earned the victory in the throwing competition by tossing a 95-pound bag over the 15-foot high bar as his time was winding down. 

Shaw attempted to counter by skipping the 95-pound bag and throwing 100 pounds over the bar, which would have tied the world record. His two attempts came up just short, putting Bjornsson in the top spot after the first day of events. 

This is nearly identical to what happened last year. Bjornsson took the top spot with 10 points in the bar throw, followed by Shaw in second place. 

Immediately after the bar throw ended, the stone shoulder event took place. Bjornsson turned in a third-place finish to earn five points. He came in behind Mateusz Kieliszkowski and Mikhail Shivlyakov but was one spot ahead of Shaw. 

That spells good news for Bjornsson with three events coming on Saturday. This figures to be a showdown between Bjornsson and Shaw, so his two head-to-head triumphs over the defending champion put him in an excellent position to earn his first career win in the Strongman Classic.

When Bjornsson isn't acting, he's been competing in strongman competitions since 2010, winning Iceland's Strongest Man competition each year since 2011. His rivalry with Shaw dates back to his inaugural year when they finished first and second at the Jon Pall Sigmarsson Classic with the American coming out on top. 

Shaw has won the Arnold Strongman Classic three times since 2011, including last year, and he hasn't finished lower than second in six years.

Bjornsson's best overall finish at the Arnold Strongman Classic came in 2017 when he was the runner-up to Shaw. 

Friday's triumph is a good first step for Bjornsson to finally get over that hump, though he has to keep putting pressure on Shaw. They will be back in action tomorrow with three events, including the timber carry, elephant bar deadlift and Appolon's Wheel, to determine this year's Arnold Strongman Champion.

Shaw dominated these events last year, finishing first in the timber carry and elephant bar to finish six points ahead of Bjornsson in the final standings. 

With an additional year of training and preparation behind him, Bjornsson knows the task ahead of him will require even more stamina and power on Saturday than he displayed in the first round.