Well we already knew he could crush skulls with his bare hands, but “The Mountain” is less well-known for his tremendous hip drive and deadlift lockout.
During his relentless training for the 2017 World’s Strongest Man competition, which will be held between the 20th and the 28th of May in Botswana, Hafthor Bjornsson — better known to the wider public as Gregor “The Mountain” Clegane in HBO’s Game of Thrones — has been working hard on his deadlift.
Below you can watch him pull a solid 400kg (881.8 pounds) for two reps at a bodyweight of somewhere around 195kg/420 pounds. The man is 6’9″ and is pulling conventional — that’s a lot of travel distance. (Sumo deadlifts aren’t allowed in most strongman competitions.)
We wouldn’t be surprised if that celebratory fist bump shattered his friend’s hand.
The first pull was amazingly smooth and the second rep only has a tiny hitch toward the end — we think there’s a good chance this is a four- or five-rep max, though we should point out that Bjornsson managed these deadlifts with straps and a deadlift suit.
Bjornsson’s PR in the deadlift is 450kg (992 pounds) — that’s raw and with wrist straps — but he has good reason to try and beat his record. In the 2016 World’s Strongest Man event (also held in Botswana), Bjornsson came in second place by a mere two points despite having won more events than first place finisher Brian Shaw and having set a world record in the keg toss along the way.
Bjornsson had the most impressive plane pull, first place in the Atlas Stone event, and he tied with Eddie Hall for a Circus Barbell press of 159kg (350 pounds) for eight reps.
His weak point? Arguably, it was the deadlift. Bjornsson pulled 420kg (926 pounds), while Shaw and Eddie Hall both managed 445 kilograms (981 pounds). It’s unlikely that this year will feature the exact same events as last year’s, but if Bjornsson can significantly increase his deadlift, his chances of taking home the title of World’s Strongest Man will increase with it.
Featured image via @thorbjornsson on Instagram.
