The Mountain from 'Game of Thrones' just broke an outrageous strength record
He's basically lifted a mountain
He plays a giant, undead killing machine on the biggest show on television, and yet somehow Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson’s real world achievements are even more impressive.
The 6’9” Icelandic Game of Thrones actor - who is the third man to play The Mountain on the show, having taken over the reigns in Season 4 - is also one of the world’s most impressive strongmen, and possibly just as terrifying out of costume as he is in it.
Björnsson just finished competing at the 2018 Arnold Strongman Competition, where he managed to break the deadlifting record, casually plucking a 1,041lb (472kg) barbell from the floor.
Here he is in action (the amount of weight on that bar is truly obscene, he’s lifting six fully grown human beings):
Just a month ago Björnsson declared that he had his heart set on beating the previous record of 1,031lb, set by American Jerry Pritchett last year.
He fought off competition from last year’s winner Brian Shaw to take the crown, and also beat a Russian strongman named Mikhail Shivlyakov, who strained so hard during one of his lifts he began bleeding from the actual face.
In this truly astounding clip, Shivlyakov hauls the 963lb (426kg) bar from the ground, before his knees begin to shake wildly and blood spurts aggressively from his nose.
Somehow, he manages to complete the lift with blood pouring down his face, from what we can only assume is the explosion of his brain.
Björnsson, 29, has a long and successful career as a strongman, having finished runner up three times at the World’s Strongest Man competition, in 2014, 2016 and 2017.
He is a three-time winner of Europe’s Strongest Man, and claimed his first ever Arnold Strongman Classic title this year, after finishing runner up in 2017.
His most impressive feat, though, came in February 2015, when he smashed a 1,000 year old record by carrying a 1,433lbs (649kg) 30-foot long log on his shoulders for five steps in the World’s Strongest Viking competition in Norway.
According to the World’s Strongest Man website, the record was previously held by Icelander Orm Storulfsson, who carried a log weighing more than 650lbs for three steps before his back reportedly broke.
With a man like this at her side, perhaps Cersei really will cling onto the Iron Throne of Westeros after all.
(Image: Rex)
