“The Mountain” Hafthor Bjornsson has shown off his shredded physique before his much hyped fight with Eddie Hall.
The Mountain, but not as we know him
Hafthor Bjornsson: Ripped AF
Hafthor Bjornsson, known to most as ‘the Mountain’ from Game of Thrones, has debuted a new shredded physique as he transitions away from strongman towards boxing for his grudge match with fellow World’s Strongest Man winner Eddie Hall.
Although his match with Eddie is still some months away – the fight is scheduled for September, in Las Vegas – Hafthor looks to be in about the best shape of his life, displaying much-coveted visible abs, something we seldom associate with strongmen or powerlifters.
In a story posted to Instagram, Hafthor said that he was ‘feeling fit, healthy and strong’ at a new bodyweight of 155kg. While this would hardly count as svelte for most people, most people aren’t the Mountain, who has previously weighed as much as 205kg. That was his weight last year when he broke Eddie Hall’s 500kg deadlift world record.
Despite there having been bad blood between the two men dating back at least to Eddie Hall’s World’s Strongest Man win in 2017, things have only got worse since Hafthor posted a 501kg deadlift in his home gym in Iceland. Eddie protested that the lift shouldn’t have counted, because it took place outside a competition setting – a deviation which is perhaps forgivable given the circumstances of the last year – but the fact that Thor chose to beat the record by a mere 1kg can only have added to the humiliation of having his world record taken away.
Not all that long ago, a 500kg deadlift was thought to be a superhuman lift, beyond the capacity of a mere mortal, but anybody who has witnessed Hafthor’s lift will know that he had more in the tank that day.
Hafthor has already had one boxing bout in preparation for Eddie, an uninspiring draw against journeyman Stephen Ward, and will have a second at the end of the month, against Simon Vallily.
Eddie recently posted a picture of himself at a similar weight to Hafthor
Lest anybody should think Eddie is slacking, he has been posting similarly mind-bending images of his physique transformation, as well as evidence that he still possesses the massive strength he is famous for.
At the very least the fight promises to be a spectacle, and will no doubt earn both men a significant payday. Whether they choose to remain in the boxing world after the fight seems doubtful, but with either of these superhuman strongmen, anything seems possible.
