GIANT Game of Thrones star turned boxer Hafthor Bjornsson has come out of retirement to break an all-time world record.
The Icelandic beast, who is 6ft 8in tall and weights nearly 23 stone, was once strongman’s number one star after winning World’s Strongest Man in 2018.
But Bjornsson turned his back on the sport in order to become a boxer.
The mega-hitter slimmed down and built up his stamina before delivering a stunning KO of rival Eddie Hall.
And Bjornsson then declared he was retiring in order to assess his future options.
But the 34-year-old, who played Gregor ‘The Mountain’ Clegane on hit TV show Game of Thrones, has now made TWO major announcements.
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In news which is sure to delight strength fans, Bjornsson has declared his intent to set a new raw powerlifting world-record.
The sport sees hulks aim to hit their top weights in three events – deadlifts, squats and bench-press.
The numbers from all three are then combined for a final total score.
And Bjornsson is confident he can beat the current record of 1182.5kg, held by Dan Bell, at the end of 2023.
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That would be three-and-a-half years after setting a new deadlift world record of 501kg, which sparked his boxing rivalry with Hall.
But there’s further news from Bjornsson, who has also confirmed a return to professional strongman in 2024.
His last event was the successful Arnold Classic in 2020.
And Bjornsson reckons his foray into powerlifting will serve as a great stepping stone for a return to his former love.
The current World’s Strongest Man is Scottish behemoth Tom Stoltman, who has won the trophy two times in a row.
But it remains to be seen if 2018 winner Bjornsson competes in the tournament, having previously vowed to never work with organisers Giants Live again.
However, he does plan on regaining his Arnold Classics crown, which he won three times in a row before leaving strongman.
Bjornsson said in a YouTube video: “I love training heavy and I want to build my legacy in the strength world.
“So my decision is to come back into powerlifting. I want to break the all-time raw powerlifting world record.
“Powerlifting is squat, bench and deadlift, three lifts. And I want to break the all-time total, which is today 1182.5kg.
“That record is held by Dan Bell, a great powerlifter. Who knows, maybe before I break it he will break it again.
“I like competition, I like to be challenged. The goal is to do it at the end of the year.
“It’s crazy but I have a lot of muscle and strength memory, so slowly but surely my strength is coming back.
“Hopefully my body will be good to me like it was before, stay injury-free.
“So that’s the plan, to be very successful in powerlifting, build my legacy, build my name in the strength world.
“[Then in 2024] I will go back to strongman and give my absolute best there again.
“I want to compete at the Arnold Classic in Columbus, Ohio and Rogue Invitationals.
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“Those are the two shows I have my eyes on. I want to win those, I truly believe when I break the powerlifting record my starting strengths are going to be very good and will translate well into strongman.
“That’s the plan. Big announcement, big goals, but I’m a big guy with a big heart with a lot of ambition and big dreams.”
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
