He may have achieved international stardom for portraying “The Mountain” on HBO’s Game of Thrones, but now 29 year-old Hafthor Julius Bjornsson has yet another claim to fame: The title of World’s Strongest Man.
On a blazing hot day in Manila, the Icelandic strongman and actor finally claimed the title in his seventh consecutive trip to the WSM podium; Bjornsson has competed in the competition every year since 2011, where he finished in 6th place as a rookie. The 2018 competition took place in Manila, Philippines, after spending the past two years in Botswana.
After winning his qualifying group to secure yet another spot in the World’s Strongest Man Final, Bjornsson dominated in the finals, winning the Overhead Press and Loading Race on his way to securing first overall.
Eddie Hall — the 2017 World’s Strongest Man Champion — sat out this year’s competition, and though he’s alluded to retiring from the sport, and it’s unclear if and when he’ll return to the WSM stage.
The official event organizer results likely won’t be released by World’s Strongest Man until the competition’s television air dates later this year (June for viewers in the USA, December for viewers in Great Britain). However, the unofficial Finals placements are listed below; note that these may be subject to change and scoring adjustments.
A big thanks from the entire strongman and fan community to strongman athlete Mattis Bjornheim and Starting Strongman editor Kalle Beck for helping to keep this info up to date online.
2018 World’s Strongest Man Results
1. Hafthor Bjornsson — 51.5 Points
2. Mateusz Kieliszkowski — 45 Points
3. Brian Shaw — 44 Points
4. Martins Licis — 38.5 Points
5. Jean-François Caron — 35 Points
6. Johan Els — 30 Points
7. Matjaz Belsak — 28.5 Points
8. Konstantine Janashia — 22 Points
9. Robert Oberst — 19.5 Points
10. Zydrunas Savickas (withdrew after Event 4) — 9 Points
The win continues an historic year of performances for Bjornsson. In March, he put on a commanding performance to win the 2018 Arnold Strongman Classic in Columbus, Ohio. Just over a month later, he finished in first at the 2018 Europe’s Strongest Man, his fourth win at that competition. While Bjornsson has been among strongman’s elite for years, his accolades this year — an ability to stay at the top of his game for the months-long competition season — prove he’s currently in a class all his own.
Four-time World’s Strongest Man winner Zydrunas Savickas — 42 years-old during this year’s competition — withdrew after the bus pull due to what appears to be an achilles injury. The legendary Lithuanian strongman has also been dealing with several other injuries, including one to his bicep.
[Interested in watching the World’s Strongest Man on television? Christmas came early this year and it’s being aired earlier than 2017, here’s the schedule!]
Featured image: @thorbjornsson on Instagram
