After almost three years away from competitive strength sports, Hafthor Björnsson is able to go full throttle again and dial up the unique power that helps him live as much as the nickname of “The Mountain.”
On Oct. 22, 2022, Björnsson shared a video on his YouTube channel where he trains and works through a lightweight deadlift session while making a major profession announcement — he might be making a return to sanctioned powerlifting. The athlete disclosed that his first powerlifting appearance since December 2018 will occur on Dec. 3, 2022, but didn’t make clear what the competition is specifically.
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Judging by Björnsson’s tenor while revealing his return to powerlifting, it seems the athlete will use this primary undisclosed meet as a trial run of sorts. He desires to see “how the bar will react” while he lifts raw — a lifting style that is usually a far cry from the lifting straps, wraps, and fully-equipped set-up of some strongman events.
By way of setting reasonable expectations for himself as a powerlifter, Björnsson is aiming high. He desires to record a complete of a minimum of 1,000 kilograms (2,204.6 kilos). Björnsson’s all-time raw competition best total as a powerlifter is 1,100 kilograms (2,425 kilos) from the 2018 World Raw Powerlifting Federation (WRPF) Thor’s Powerlifting Challenge.
Here’s an outline of Björnsson’s all-time raw competition bests from his powerlifting profession:
*Hafthor Björnsson | All-Time Raw Competition Powerlifting Bests
- *Squat — No raw attempt
- Bench Press — 250 kilograms (551.1 kilos)
- Deadlift — 410 kilograms (903.9 kilos)
- **Total — 506 kilograms (1,113.3 kilos)
*Note: Based on Open Powerlifting, Björnsson has never recorded a raw squat during an official powerlifting contest.
**Note: Based on Open Powerlifting, Björnsson has never competed in a three-lift raw powerlifting meet. This total includes only a bench press and deadlift.
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Björnsson’s announcement of a powerlifting return comes on the heels of his “partial” comeback to strongman. In mid-October 2022, the 2018 World’s Strongest Man (WSM) champion revealed that he would push to interrupt his own weight-over-bar World Record on the 2022 Rogue Invitational on Oct. 28-30. The present weight-over-bar mark from the 2019 Arnold Strongman Classic — which, again, Björnsson owns — is a weight of 56 kilos thrown over a height of 20’2″.
Should Björnsson officially surpass that record figure, he alluded to a future where he may try to interrupt his own deadlift World Record of 501 kilograms (1,104.5 kilos) from the 2020 World’s Ultimate Strongman “Feats of Strength” series. Within the event that the potential goal is successful, Björnsson would naturally be the first-ever strongman to deadlift over 501 kilograms.
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For an impeccably strong athlete like Björnsson, it appears he desires to rekindle the passions that pushed him to the highest of the strength sports world. At this rate, knowing what Björnsson brings to the table, who’s to say the strongman/powerlifter won’t excel on a consistent level again?
Featured image: Hafthor Björnsson on YouTube