'Game of Thrones' Alum Hafþór Björnsson Breaks Major Deadlifting World Record
By Rachel Reed
Hafþór Björnsson, best known as "The Mountain" from Game of Thrones, just made his way to the tip-top of the deadlifting world. According to BBC, the actor has just broken and set the world record in the sport by lifting 501kg (1,104lb). Gregor Clegane would be so proud!
The event was streamed by ESPN as well as filmed for Björnsson's YouTube channel. As BBC points out, this isn't Björnsson's first major honor when it comes to showing off his physical strengths. Back in 2018, the HBO star won the World's Strongest Man competition.
In a behind-the-scenes post-victory moment, the GoT actor said, "I'm extremely proud, you know. I'm extremely happy. It's great - there's nothing better than proving people wrong. So many people didn't believe in me, so many people that said, '501kg is never going to go up'... But I also had a lot of support. I feel healthy, I feel good. I'm just absolutely speechless, even though I'm talking a lot now. But I'm excited, super excited - this is huge for me."
The previous world record holder was Eddie Hall, who, in 2016, became the first man to lift 500kg. With just 1kg of a lead, Björnsson is now number one in the world!