It has been a few months since Hafthor Bjornsson announced that he was coming back to powerlifting. Initially, he only wanted to get back to lifting weights following his boxing venture, but that quickly grew into some much bigger goals. With the love for the sport reignited in him, Hafthor decided to try to break the All-Time Raw W/Wraps World Record Total by the end of 2023. He started putting on some weight and training professionally, which resulted in some impressive improvements. However, it seems that his exhibition will be cut short, or at least slowed down, since Hafthor just tore his pec muscle.
Wanting to test his strength and technique, Hafthor Bjornsson organized a powerlifting competition in his gym. The competition took place on April 15th, and lasted the entire day. Hafthor started off strong, but his day was ruined on the bench press. After successfully and easily locking out 230 kilograms (507.1 pounds) and 240 kilograms (529.1 pounds), Hafthor loaded 252.5 kilograms (556.7 pounds) for his final attempt.
Having never lifted this much weight before, Hafthor Bjornsson was eager to score a new competition PR. However, when he started to lower the 252.5 kilograms (556.7 pounds) down to his chest, his pec muscle torn. This resulted in a spine-chilling scream from the 2018 World’s Strongest Man, which only stopped after the spotters lifted the bar off him.
The video of the incident was shared by a Strongman promoter, Julian Howard, on Instagram. The footage clearly shows Hafthor’s pec muscle detaching, along with the sound of tearing.
Watch the video here:
Hafthor Bjornsson will probably reveal the severity of the injury as soon as he completes all the necessary testing. However, pec tears can take months to recover, and it seems that Hafthor’s injury is very serious. So, it is likely that his ambitions of breaking the All-Time World Record will have to be prolonged.
Before tearing his pec, Hafthor Bjornsson had a relatively decent start to the competition. He squatted 380 kilograms (837.6 pounds) and 420 kilograms (925.9 pounds) on his first two attempts. Bjornsson then moved on to his third attempt of 445 kilograms (981 pounds) and crushed it. However, the third attempt was then disallowed because of his depth.
Hafthor Bjornsson also intended to return to Strongman in 2024, but this injury might affect those plans as well. Both Powerlifting and Strongman are notorious for their injuries. Hafthor’s risk was potentially even greater, seeing that he took two years off to train boxing. While doing that, Hafthor beat Eddie Hall in one of the heaviest fights in history. Shortly after the match, Hafthor realized that his love lies in strength sports.
The first thing Hafthor Bjornsson did after retiring from boxing was break a World Record in Strongman. He further improved his own Weight Over Bar record at the 2022 Rogue Invitational.
Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson’s Powerlifting Career
Personal Bests
| Equip | Squat | Bench | Deadlift | Total | Dots |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wraps | 970 | 551.2 | 970 | 2425.1 | 551.79 |
| Raw | 474 | 1113.3 | 268.28 |
Competition Results
| Place | Fed | Date | Competition | Division | Total | Dots | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 1 | WRPF-Iceland | 2018-12-15 | Thors Powerlifting Challenge | Open | 2425.1 | 551.79 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 2 | RAW-Iceland | 2011-06-03 | Íslandsmót | Open | 2050.3 | 470.77 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 1 | IKF | 2010-09-22 | Heildarúrslit | Open | 474 | 110.15 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 1 | WPC-Iceland | 2010-03-20 | Icelandic Championships | Open | 1113.3 | 268.28 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 1 | RAW-Iceland | 2010-02-27 | Íslandsmót | Open | 705.5 | 170.88 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Data Source: Open Powerlifting. Last Updated: April 12, 2023
Related: Hafthor Björnsson Inducted into The International Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2023
Hafthor Bjornsson has experienced multiple injuries during his career and successfully overcame them all. Hopefully he will do the same with this one and then continue where he left off. Bjornsson will undoubtedly soon come out with a statement revealing what the future has in store for him.