Hafthor Bjornsson has been very successful since he came back from retirement and is excited to pursue even more success in 2026. However, he recently shared some unfortunate news on YouTube, revealing that he has decided to withdraw from the 2026 Arnold Strongman Classic, which will take place on March 6-7 in Columbus, Ohio. Hafthor has also elaborated on his plans for the remainder of the season.
Hafthor Bjornsson’s absence from the 2026 Arnold Strongman Classic will also allow him to pursue his Deadlift World Record attempt. As Hafthor recently revealed, he will try to set a new record at the 2026 Enhanced Games on May 24th in Las Vegas, Nevada. Now that his schedule has cleared up, he will certainly focus on achieving the historic feat.
Related: Hafthor Bjornsson’s 8,000-Calorie Diet Examined by Dr. Mike Israetel for Peak Strength
Hafthor Bjornsson Withdraws From 2026 Arnold Strongman Classic
Hafthor Bjornsson first expressed his condolences to Pa O’Dwyer’s family and friends, saying that it was nice to see the community come together at such a tragic moment. He then moved over to another topic, announcing that he will not be able to compete at the 2026 Arnold Strongman Classic.
Bjornsson revealed that he had doubts about his appearance from the second he accepted the invite, but that the organizers gave him time to see how his preparation was going before deciding to withdraw. So, with the competition approaching, Hafthor is still not feeling great and he doesn’t want to battle for anything other than first place.
“I have some sad news, guys. I will have to pull out of the Arnold Strongman Classic. When I got the invitation, it was like 50/50 anyway. I spoke to the people at the Classic. I asked them if they wanted to give my invitation away to someone else because I was 50/50 and they said, ‘Just train, see how you do and if you’ll be ready, you can compete. If not, that’s okay’…
I don’t want to compete knowing that I’m not at my best. It’s just too close to the show now for me to be at that level where I know I can win or like I have at least a shot to win. I don’t want to come fifth or sixth or seventh, you know. I want to come first and at the shape I’m at right now, with full respect for the athletes, I know that they’ll be stronger than me at that time frame.”
The cause of Hafthor Bjornsson’s withdrawal from the 2026 Arnold Strongman Classic is his rotator cuff injury. The same issue prevented him from competing at the 2025 Rogue Invitational. He hoped to recover in time, which, unfortunately, did not end up being the case. Luckily, Hafthor’s shoulder injury does not stop him from working on his deadlift.
“Obviously I’ve been in rehab with my rotator cuff and in like an offseason. Recovery has been taking me slightly longer than expected or like what I thought. I obviously went to the States, did PRP and stem cell for my rotator cuff. It’s feeling much better and I’m moving weight again.”
As for his plans for the future, Hafthor Bjornsson intends to focus solely on the deadlift, allowing his shoulder injury to heal and working toward a new World Record. He will implement other exercises as accessories but also pay attention not to put too much pressure on his shoulder.
“I need to just take this time to heal up, train wisely, and focus on the deadlift. I have a massive deadlift event coming up in 20 weeks. That time frame should be good because I’ll also only be focusing on a deadlift. That’s the first time I’ve done that, where I’ve just solely focused on the deadlift, which will be a nice change.”
As far as his overall health goes, Hafthor Bjornsson revealed that he recently went out to Los Angeles to test his heart and the results came back with good indicators. His liver enzymes were a bit high, but it was something that Hafthor expected to see.
Check out the full video here:
Related: Hafthor Bjornsson Narrowly Avoids Injury After Dropping Over 200-kg (440.9-lb) on His Back
Hafthor Bjornsson had one of the highlights of his career just a couple of months ago, when he set a 510-kilogram (1,124.4-pound) Deadlift World Record. He was then unfortunately sidelined by a shoulder injury, which will now keep him out of the 2026 Arnold Strongman Classic as well. However, the 2018 World’s Strongest Man will be back on the competition floor in a couple of months.
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