'The Mountain' Hafthor Bjornsson Wins Arnold Sports Festival Strongman Classic
After a second-place finish at the 2017 Arnold Sports Festival Strongman Classic, Hafthor Bjornsson, aka The Mountain on HBO's Game of Thrones, had a record-setting performance as he finally took home the crown.
Bjornsson got off to a good start on Friday by defeating last year's Strongman Classic champion Brian Shaw in the throwing competition by tossing a 95-pound bag over the 15-foot high bar and also recorded a third-place finish in the stone shoulder event. The strong start had him in first after the opening day.
Heading into Day 2, he let his fans know he was ready to finish the job:
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Boy was he.
The Mountain used a time of 11.80 seconds to pull out a third-place result in the timber carry event. While Shaw managed to finish one spot ahead of him with a time of 10.03 seconds, Bjornsson did enough to give himself a chance to win overall.
It was the rogue elephant bar deadlift event that saw the 6'9", 386-pound HBO star make a statement. With a record-setting lift of 1,041 pounds, he bested second place by 20 pounds and the third-placed Shaw by 25 pounds.
Instagram account Massenomics posted video of the amazing feat:
The Mountain was rightfully very proud of his record accomplishment:
That incredible effort had him in a good position entering the final event.
With his first Arnold Sports Festival Strongman Classic title within reach, Bjornsson finished the job in the fifth and final event, Apollon's Wheel. As Rogue Fitness tweeted, he was unstoppable this weekend:
The Arnold Strongman Classic title is just the latest addition to an already impressive resume. He previously won the title of Europe's Strongest Man, Iceland's Strongest Man and Iceland's Strongest Viking multiple times each.
Now, all eyes will be on the World's Strongest Man contest to see if The Mountain can finally capture the elusive title. He has three runner-ups—including each of the past two years—and three third-place finishes.
Results via ArnoldSportsFestival.com.
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