When we last checked in on Hafthor Bjornsson, an epic human muscle-heap who also happens to play The Mountain on the HBO series "Game of Thrones," he was manhandling a 970-pound deadlift in training, a month out from the Arnold Strongman Classic. He's been a perennial also-ran at top strongman events for a few years now, including at the 2017 Arnold Classic, where he topped out at 966 pounds on the Elephant Bar deadlift on the way to second place overall.

Runner-up no more! After spending the last year focusing on building his deadlift, Bjornsson out pulled 2017 champ Brian Shaw by 25 pounds (1,041 to 1,016) en route to the overall victory. His 472-kilogram PR also beat Jerry Pritchett's previous record in the event (1,031 pounds) set just last year.



You can watch the individual lift on Bjornnson's Instagram, but the full hour-long event is also worth peeping if you have the time. Seriously, who knew there was so much drama in deadlifting? (Special mention also has to go out to Mikhail Shivlyakov, who started spraying blood out of his nose during his successful 939-pound pull).

Consider this an instant addition to the 5 Greatest Deadlifts of All Time. But, um, someone else can break it to Konstantin Konstantinovs.

About the Author

Nick Collias

Nick Collias

Nick Collias is the Executive Editor at Bodybuilding.com.

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Deadlift