Fellow readers, this weekend we might be watching a historic event unfold in front of our eyes. Hafthor Bjornsson will probably be competing in Strongman for the last time-EVER. A decade long reign of terror and a meteoric rise to fame and the very top of the Strongman world will probably be coming to an end very soon.
There are several reasons why the most intimidating persona in Strongman is deciding to go out on top. Firstly he is preparing to punch Eddie Hall in the face in a boxing match and he will be paid greatly for doing so. The side effect of preparing for a boxing match is losing mass, which means he can’t be at his biggest and strongest which is required to compete at his level. What else didn’t help him being persuaded to stick around in Strongman is the “Giants Live” controversy where they uploaded an edited video from a supposedly upcoming documentary that portrays Thor in a very very bad light.
The video implies Hafthor didn’t congratulate Eddie Hall for winning WSM that year and generally gives the vibe of Hafthor being a bad sportsman. After some serious backlash, the “Giants Live” crew deleted the video and Hafthor swore to never compete at a “Giants Live” show ever again. This sucks because they are the company behind Europe’s Strongest Man, World’s Strongest Man, Britain’s Strongest Man a bunch of other events that qualify athletes for the above-mentioned big shows.
However, at the time of him writing that statement he did leave the door open for a potential return at an “Arnold Strongman Classic” event, but that was more of a hypothetical “we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it” situation. Now, more time has passed and man they called The Mountain has shed even more weight and it looks like he isn’t that interested in a comeback.
THIS WILL MOST LIKELY BE MY LAST STRONGMAN SHOW. THE REASON FOR THAT IS BECAUSE I KNOW, WELL, TO PREPARE MYSELF FOR A MAJOR BIG SHOW MEANS I HAVE TO BE SUPER HEAVY AND SUPER STRONG. THAT’S GOING TO BE A DIFFICULT TEST TO DO WHILE PREPARING FOR MY BOXING MATCH. THAT’S NOT GOING TO MIX TOGETHER VERY WELL. BUT I WILL BE ABLE TO DO THIS SHOW BECAUSE IT’S CLOSE AND I DON’T NEED TO BE AT MY FULLY BEST TO STILL WIN IS WILL MOST LIKELY BE MY LAST STRONGMAN SHOW. THE REASON FOR THAT IS BECAUSE I KNOW, WELL, TO PREPARE MYSELF FOR A MAJOR BIG SHOW MEANS I HAVE TO BE SUPER HEAVY AND SUPER STRONG. THAT’S GOING TO BE A DIFFICULT TEST TO DO WHILE PREPARING FOR MY BOXING MATCH. THAT’S NOT GOING TO MIX TOGETHER VERY WELL. BUT I WILL BE ABLE TO DO THIS SHOW BECAUSE IT’S CLOSE AND I DON’T NEED TO BE AT MY FULLY BEST TO STILL WIND. You can watch the video here.
If I were a betting man, I wouldn’t rule out Hafthor coming back for third Arnold Strongman title. After all is said and done with him and Eddie I wouldn’t rule out him getting “the itch” and coming back to dominate once more. He would have more than enough time to heal, rest, enjoy the cash and have fun teaching his son how to demand 5 sheeps a day from the local villagers so he doesn’t destroy them.
If he doesn’t come back, who could blame him? He did everything he possibly could in Strongman. He could continue pursuing even more records and casting an even bigger shadow over the rest of the competitors. But what’s the point? Record wise, he has done what he wanted to do, legacy wise no one will ever doubt his accomplishments and acting-wise, he will always be Gregor Clegane.
