Move over, Artie, there’s a new strongest man… in the world.
Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, who Game of Thrones fans know as Cersei’s bodyguard Gregor “The Mountain” Clegane, won the annual World’s Strongest Man competition in the Philippines on Sunday. This should come as no surprise to anyone who has seen the 29-year-old throw washing machines, or play tug-of-war with a tractor, or break a 1,000-year-old weightlifting record, and now, after finishing second in 2014, 2016, and 2017, and third in 2012, 2013, and 2015, Björnsson can add world’s strongest man to his list of accomplishments.
Björnsson finished first in three of the six events that made up the two-day finals in the Philippines: the vehicle dead lift, max overhead and loading race. He came in fourth in the frame carry, second in the truck pull and, after building a near-insurmountable lead heading into the final event, fifth in the atlas stones. (Via)
“THE WORLD’S STRONGEST MAN 2018,” Björnsson wrote on Instagram following the event. “Want to thank all of my family, friends, and fans for supporting me along the way.” The 6-foot-9, 400 lb. Icelandic strongman/actor (not every day you get to write that) is expected to return for the final season of Game of Thrones, where he’ll punch a dragon in the face, or something.
LOOK: The Bus Pull kicked off the last day of The @WorldsStrongest Man at the Diliman campus of the University of the Philippines! Two more events remain to determine who will win the title! #WSM #itsmorefuninthephilippines pic.twitter.com/lUr9esnHLb
— Visit Philippines (@TourismPHL) May 6, 2018
(Via Washington Post)