Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson
Hafþór Björnsson | |
|---|---|
| Born | Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson November 28, 1988 |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, strongman competitor, basketball player |
| Years active | 2014–present |
Hafþór Júlíus "Thor" Björnsson (Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈhafθour ˈjuːliʏs ˈpjœsːɔn], born November 28, 1988) is an Icelandic strongman competitor, television and film actor, and a former professional basketball player.
Career
Basketball career
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1988 Iceland |
| Nationality | Icelandic |
| Listed height | 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) |
| Career information | |
| Playing career | 2006–2008 |
| Position | Center |
| Career history | |
| 2006–2007 | K.R. Basket Reykjavík |
| 2007–2008 | FSu Selfoss basketball |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| D2 Iceland National Basketball Team | |
Hafþór began his sports career as a basketball player. At 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in),[1] he played first in the Iceland-Dominos league's K.R. Basket Reykjavík basketball team as a starting center of the team. Simultaneously, he was picked for the D2 Icelandic National Basketball Team.[2]
For the season 2007–2008, he moved to play professionally as center for the Icelandic Division 1 basketball team FSu Selfoss Basketball team.[2]
Suffering a severe knee injury at age 20, he was forced to leave a prospective professional basketball career awaiting him.[3]
Strongman career
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | November 26, 1988 Iceland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Strongman | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | Template:Unit weight | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Strongman | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Hafþór met Icelandic strongman Magnús Ver Magnússon at his gym "Jakaból" in 2008, and Magnús said that Hafþór seemed a good prospect as a strongman.[3] Hafþór won several contests in 2010 including Strongest Man in Iceland, Iceland's Strongest Viking, Westfjords Viking,[4] and recently the OK Badur Strongman Championships in Iceland.[5]
Hafþór finished in second place at the inaugural Jon Pall Sigmarsson Classic, behind Brian Shaw.[6] He won the 2011 Strongest Man in Iceland contest on June 4, 2011,[7] and the 2011 Iceland's Strongest Man contest on June 18, 2011.[8]
Hafþór came fourth in the Giants Live Poland 2011 event on August 6, 2011.
World's Strongest Man
Hafþór took part in World's Strongest Man after earning a wild card invitation to the 2011 contest.[9] coming sixth overall in that year's competition.
Taking part again in ensuing years, he placed third in the 2012 and the 2013 World's Strongest Man competitions. He finished runner-up in the 2014 event[10] to the eventual winner, the Lithuanian Žydrūnas Savickas.[11]
Acting
Hafþór was cast as Gregor Clegane for the fourth season of the HBO series Game of Thrones in August 2013.[12] This was his first main acting role, and the third person to depict the character after Conan Stevens played the role of Clegane in season 1 and Ian Whyte in season 2.
Personal records
- Squat – 350 kg (770 lbs) raw[13]
- Bench press – 230 kg (507 lbs) raw
- Tire deadlift – 450 kg (994 lbs) raw with wrist straps[13]
- Deadlift – 420 kg (925 lbs)raw with wrist straps[13]
- Loglift – 192.5 kg (424 lbs)
Training lifts
- Deadlift 410 kg (903.8 lbs) raw with wrist straps
- Loglift 190 kg (418.8 lbs)
Filmography / television
- 2012–2013: The World's Strongest Man as himself – competitor (TV series)
- 2014: Game of Thrones as Gregor Clegane (HBO TV series)
- 2014: Zon 261 as Big John – Icelandic Viking Squad (post-production)
References
- ^ "Hafthor Bjornsson". www.stongman.org. Strongman. Retrieved 2014-06-14.
- ^ a b Eurobasket: Hafþór Björnsson page
- ^ a b Magnus Ver Magnusson: Icelandic Strongman Scout. Ironmind.com (2010-05-29). Retrieved on 2014-03-30.
- ^ Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson. vodvafikn.net
- ^ Haffþór Júlíusson Björnsson wins Iceland’s OK Budar Strongman Contest. Ironmind.com (2010-08-10). Retrieved on 2014-03-30.
- ^ Brian Shaw Wins the Inaugural Jon Pall Sigmarsson Classic Strongman Contest. Ironmind.com (2010-11-22). Retrieved on 2014-03-30.
- ^ Hafthor Julius Bjornsson Wins the Strongest Man in Iceland. Ironmind.com (2011-06-06). Retrieved on 2014-03-30.
- ^ Hafthor Julius Bjornsson Wins Iceland’s Strongest Man. Ironmind.com (2011-06-19). Retrieved on 2014-03-30.
- ^ Giants Live–Poland: Radzikowski, Jenkins and Baron Make WSM Cut . . . Bjornsson Gets Wild Card. Ironmind.com (2011-08-08). Retrieved on 2014-03-30.
- ^ Cindy Boren (May 19, 2014). "'Game of Thrones' villain is second-strongest man in the world". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 19, 2014.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Iceland Review: Hafþór Júlíus Runner up in World’s Strongest Man Comp
- ^ "Mountain Recast". WinterIsComing.net. August 30, 2013. Retrieved August 30, 2013.
- ^ a b c Jay Hathaway (June 4, 2014). "Watch The Mountain from Game of Thrones Deadlift Almost 1,000 Pounds". Gawker.com. Retrieved June 5, 2014.