Game of Thrones star Hafthor ‘The Mountain’ Bjornsson pulled 1,035 lbs / 470 kg during a Twitch livestream, ahead of his 501 kg world record attempt on May 2.
In terms of feats of strength, the deadlift is arguably the most technical, while simultaneously being the most physically taxing lift to perform.
That’s why when Eddie Hall famously become the first man to pull 1,102 lbs / 500 kg from the floor on a conventional barbell back in 2016, it was deemed one of most iconic moments in the history of sport.
Game of Thrones’ Hafthor Bjornsson has been gunning for that title ever since. Although things haven’t been as straightforward as he’d perhaps hoped for in the build-up to his world record attempt.
Prior to the current global health situation, Bjornsson was originally meant to attempt a world record at the World’s Ultimate Strongman on April 11, in a standard competition setting. However, this has since been moved to May 2 and will take place inside Hafthor’s own gym due to the current restrictions in place.
This is where plenty of controversy has surrounded the lift already, as big names in the realm of Strongman such as Robert Oberst and Brian Shaw have stated that record should not count — claims which have of course been backed up by the current record holder, Eddie Hall.
Both Eddie and Hafthor have been toing and froing over social media amid the upcoming 501 kg deadlift, which has perhaps spurred The Mountain on and fueled his monstrous 470 kg pull during his April 20 livestream.
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With the 501 kg pull less than two weeks away from the time of writing, Hafthor looks primed and ready to take the world record title out of Eddie Hall’s hands and back to Iceland.
In fact, before lifting the monstrous weight – which is merely 10 kg less than Bjornnson’s 480 kg Elephant Bar unofficial world record – The Mountain pledged to break the world record with ease in front of 10,000 fans watching on.
The 31-year-old went on to claim that he could “easily pull 501 kg” straight after his insane 470 kg deadlift — although he will, of course, be saving that until the official date. Heck, 470 kg might even be the second heaviest conventional deadlift of all-time by itself!
Will Bjornsson become the first man ever to pull 501 kg from the ground on a conventional barbell? The lift is scheduled to be livestreamed by ESPN on May 2.