This was quite a weekend for Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson at this year’s 2019 Arnold Sport Festival, and we were there to catch it all. For the second year in a row, Björnsson won the Arnold Strongman Classic Crown. Björnsson has been competing in the Arnold Strongman Classic for nine years. He worked his way up, finishing fifth in 2016, then second in 2017 before taking the title in 2018.
Prior to the lift that solidified his Strongman status for the second year in a row, Björnsson made his way around this year’s Arnold Festival, even grabbing a moment with Miles Taylor. “Two champions. Congratulations,” read the Arnold Sports Instagram. The 24-year-old Taylor, who has cerebral palsy, had his own, special night when he deadlifted 185 pounds to kick off the first night of the Arnold compeititions.
No stone was too big for Thor. Björnsson carried around giant rocks, showcasing his mountainous strength in the Arnold Stone Shoulder event. For this year’s Husafell Stone Carry, Thor carried the 410-pound Husafell Stone an impressive 218 feet.
You would think the Austrian Oak lift, Husafell Stone, and more were a warm up to the big deadlift, but he actually kicked his Strongman competition off with that record-breaking lift. Hafþór broke his own lifting record from last year with a deadlift of 1,044.9 pounds, using the Rogue Elephant Bar. Last year, Thor lifted 1,041 pounds and toppped it this past February when he lfited 1,042.
