Hafthor Bjornsson is not just the most famous strongman on the planet — he is statistically the most prolific record-breaker in strength sports history. 🏔️
The 6 ft 9 in Icelander has set more than 130 world records, won the World’s Strongest Man title, and played “The Mountain” in Game of Thrones.
And in 2026, at 37, he is still chasing the heaviest deadlift ever pulled. This is his full story, updated for 2026.
📊 Hafthor Bjornsson Quick Facts
| Full name | Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson |
| Nickname | The Mountain, Thor |
| Date of birth | 26 November 1988 (age 37) |
| Birthplace | Reykjavík, Iceland |
| Height | 6 ft 9 in (205 cm) |
| Weight | Around 200 kg (441 lb) in 2026; career peak 210 kg (463 lb) |
| Profession | Strongman, powerlifter, actor, businessman |
| Biggest titles | World’s Strongest Man 2018; Arnold Strongman Classic 2018, 2019, 2020; Europe’s Strongest Man ×5; Iceland’s Strongest Man ×12 |
| Best deadlift | 510 kg (1,124 lb) — world record from Sep 2025 to Sep 2026 |
| Wife | Kelsey Henson (married 2018) |
| Children | 2 — a daughter and a son |
| Based in | Iceland |
🏀 Early Life and the Basketball Years
Hafthor Bjornsson was born on 26 November 1988 in Reykjavík, Iceland, and moved to Kópavogur at age eleven.
Tall genes run in the family — his father stands 6 ft 8 in — but young Hafthor was a lanky teenager who loved chess, video games and, above all, basketball.
He played centre at around 105 kg (231 lb) and represented Iceland’s junior national teams between 2004 and 2006.
His club career took him from Breiðablik to FSu Selfoss, where it was discovered he had played about ten games on a broken ankle bone that needed surgery.
After recovering, he joined KR in Iceland’s top league in 2006 — but a screw in his ankle shattered, forcing a second operation.
He returned to FSu for the 2007–08 season and helped the team win promotion, yet the ankle never fully healed.
At just 19, Hafthor retired from basketball, and his NBA dream was over. What came next changed strength sports forever. 💪
💪 The Strongman Rise
In 2009, former strongman Benedikt Magnússon spotted the 20-year-old giant training and pointed him towards a strongman contest being held the next day.
Hafthor contacted four-time World’s Strongest Man Magnús Ver Magnússon, took a spot, and never looked back.
He won his first Iceland’s Strongest Man title in 2011 — the first of ten straight — and finished sixth on his World’s Strongest Man debut the same year.
Podiums followed: third at WSM in 2012 and 2013, second in 2014, third in 2015, and second again in both 2016 and 2017.
Europe’s Strongest Man titles came in 2014 and 2015, and again in 2017 — setting up a year nobody has ever matched.
🏆 2018: The Year He Won Everything
In 2018, Hafthor Bjornsson completed the greatest single season in strongman history.
He won the Arnold Strongman Classic in Columbus, then Europe’s Strongest Man, then finally the World’s Strongest Man title in Manila, Philippines.
He remains the only athlete ever to win all three titles in the same calendar year. 🥇
He added the World’s Ultimate Strongman crown later in 2018, defended the Arnold title in 2019 and 2020, and won his fourth and fifth Europe’s Strongest Man titles in 2018 and 2019.
After winning his tenth straight Iceland’s Strongest Man title in August 2020, he stepped away from full-time strongman — as the most decorated man in the sport.
🎬 The Mountain: Game of Thrones Fame
Television made Hafthor a global star. Cast in August 2013, he played Ser Gregor “The Mountain” Clegane in Game of Thrones from season four to season eight (2014–2019).
He was the third actor to play the role, but the first to hold it across multiple seasons — and the character’s name simply became his own.
Screen work has continued since: he played the villain Mongkut in Kickboxer: Retaliation (2018), Thorfinnr in The Northman (2022), and Goat Man in Masters of the Universe (2026).
Few strength athletes have crossed into acting as successfully — fellow giant Martyn Ford has followed a similar path from the gym to the big screen.
🔥 The Deadlift Records: 501, 505, 510
On 2 May 2020, at his own Thor’s Power Gym in Iceland, Hafthor deadlifted 501 kg (1,104 lb) — beating Eddie Hall’s famous 500 kg record from 2016.
Because the lift happened in his gym rather than at a major competition, some fans questioned it. So during his comeback, he set out to do it on the biggest stages. 👀
On 26 July 2025, at the Eisenhart Black Deadlift Championships in Germany, he pulled 505 kg (1,113 lb) for a new all-time world record.
Six weeks later, on 6 September 2025 at the World Deadlift Championships in Birmingham, England, he raised it to 510 kg (1,124 lb) — then won the whole Giants Live World Open on the same day.
The record stood for exactly a year. On 5 September 2026, Mexico’s Raul Flores lifted 511 kg (1,127 lb) at the same championships, with Hafthor finishing second.
Hafthor had also attempted 515 kg at the 2026 Enhanced Games, pulling the bar to his knees — so the “King of the Deadlift” is already hunting the record back.
🥊 The Boxing Chapter
Straight after the 501 kg lift, Hafthor challenged Eddie Hall to a boxing match — and dropped around 50 kg to prepare for it.
He learned the sport from scratch, drawing exhibition bouts with Steven Ward (January 2021) and Simon Vallily (May 2021).
When Hall tore a biceps, Hafthor stopped arm-wrestler Devon Larratt in the first round in September 2021 instead.
The grudge match finally happened on 19 March 2022 in Dubai, billed as the heaviest boxing match in history.
Over six rounds, Hafthor knocked Hall down twice and won by unanimous decision. 🏆
⚠️ The Pec Tear — and the Comeback
In February 2023, Hafthor announced a return to strength sports, targeting the all-time powerlifting total world record.
Then disaster struck. On 15 April 2023, at a powerlifting meet at his own gym, he tore his left pectoral muscle clean off the bone attempting a 252.5 kg bench press.
He had surgery in Los Angeles a week later — and many assumed his elite career was finished.
Instead, he returned at the 2024 Arnold Strongman Classic, winning the deadlift event and finishing fourth overall, then took second at the Arnold UK and the Rogue Invitational.
In 2025 he was third at the Arnold, won Iceland’s Strongest Man for a twelfth time, and broke the deadlift world record twice. He was inducted into the International Sports Hall of Fame in March 2023.
🌍 Hafthor Bjornsson in 2026
Now 37, Hafthor remains one of the strongest men alive — and one of the busiest.
In 2026 he set a deadlift-for-reps world record (400 kg for seven reps in under a minute), broke the weight-over-bar world record for a thirteenth time, won the Giants Live World Open again, and finished second at Iceland’s Strongest Man.
His main goal is unfinished business: taking the deadlift world record back from Raul Flores after losing it by a single kilogram in September 2026.
Off the platform, he runs businesses including Thor’s Power Gym, the Icelandic Mountain Vodka brand he co-founded, and Thor’s Skyr — while his prime-years diet of up to 10,000 calories a day has become strongman folklore. 🍽️
He married Canadian Kelsey Henson in August 2018, and their son was born in September 2020. Hafthor also has a daughter, Theresa Líf, from a previous relationship, who lives in Denmark.
In November 2023, the couple shared the sad news that they had lost a baby girl at 21 weeks — a loss Hafthor has spoken about openly while continuing to compete.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
How tall is Hafthor Bjornsson?
Hafthor stands 6 ft 9 in (205 cm) tall, making him one of the tallest elite strongmen in history. His father is 6 ft 8 in.
Does Hafthor Bjornsson still hold the deadlift world record?
Not currently. His 510 kg (1,124 lb) record, set on 6 September 2025, was broken by Raul Flores with 511 kg on 5 September 2026. Hafthor has attempted 515 kg and is chasing the record back.
How many times has Hafthor won World’s Strongest Man?
Once, in 2018. He also won the Arnold Strongman Classic three times (2018–2020), Europe’s Strongest Man five times, and Iceland’s Strongest Man twelve times.
Who won the Hafthor Bjornsson vs Eddie Hall boxing match?
Hafthor won by unanimous decision over six rounds in Dubai on 19 March 2022, knocking Hall down twice during the fight.
Who is Hafthor Bjornsson’s wife?
He married Kelsey Henson, a Canadian fitness personality, in August 2018. They have a son, born in September 2020, and Hafthor has an older daughter from a previous relationship.
What injury did Hafthor suffer in 2023?
He tore his left pectoral muscle off the bone while bench pressing 252.5 kg in April 2023. After surgery, he returned to elite strongman in 2024 and broke the deadlift world record twice in 2025.
🏁 The Bottom Line
From a broken ankle that ended his basketball dreams to more than 130 world records, Hafthor Bjornsson’s career has no real parallel in strength sports.
He has won everything, lost his most famous record by one kilogram — and, characteristically, is already pulling at even heavier weights to win it back.
For more giants of the strength and physique world, read our biographies of Phil Heath and Jay Cutler.