Many people around the world know by now that on May 2nd, 2018 World’s Strongest Man and three-time Arnold Strongman Classic Champion Hafthor Bjornsson made history by breaking Eddie Hall’s record in the deadlift (strongman version) by pulling 501 kg (1,104 pounds). What many people may not know until now is that Bjornsson had to overcome some adversity before he made the historic attempt.
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On May 22nd, Bjornsson posted a couple of images on his Instagram account that shows he suffered a lat injury weeks before his record-setting lift.
“Fun fact. Three weeks before my 501kg deadlift WR I had a small tear in my right upper lat. Luckily I recovered well right before the heavy pull but I had to adjust my training a lot because of this incident. I never really talk about my injuries… why is that? I don’t like to give people a reason to believe that I won’t succeed! Mindset is everything, tell yourself you can and you will! Set high goals and go after them.”
If you followed Bjornsson on social media and YouTube, then you know that he had to move his training from his gym, “Thor’s Power Gym”, to his personal residence. It’s believed that he suffered this injury during that time. He doesn’t say which day he suffered the injury or how it occurred. He also doesn’t disclose if he saw medical attention for it or if he simply did the rehab on its own. But the bruising that can be seen in the images clearly show he had been injured somehow so a partial lat tear does make sense.
Considering the length of training Bjornsson had done before that lift makes it surprising that he didn’t suffer even more serious injuries along the way. He had started training for the 2020 Arnold Strongman Classic in November 2019 and after winning that event, went right back to training for the World’s Ultimate Strongman event in Bahrain which was originally scheduled for April. That event was where Bjornsson was originally scheduled to attempt the 501 kg pull. It also is around the same time that Bjornsson self-reported that he suffered the injury.
Bjornsson appeared to recover well since he did complete the pull and claim the new record as his own. Now he’s shifted his focus to weight loss as he is preparing for a September 2021 fight with longtime rival and 2017 WSM Champion Eddie Hall.
Featured Image: Instagram/thorbjornsson