The guy who played Gregor 'The Mountain' Clegane broke the deadlift world record this weekend

Hafthor Bjornsson.
(Image credit: YouTube/Rogue Fitness)

The last time we saw Gregor Clegane — better known as "The Mountain" — he was falling to his death from the Red Keep, pushed through a crumbling wall in an act of suicide by his brother, Sandor "The Hound" Clegane. But Hafthor Bjornsson, the actor who played the elder Clegane in five seasons of HBO's Game of Thrones, made a thrilling return this weekend that would have made even The Mountain quake in his armor, ESPN reports. On Saturday, Bjornsson managed to deadlift 501 kilograms, or about 1104.5 pounds, on his third attempt, breaking the world record. For comparison, that's about the equivalent of lifting a large polar bear, or a small moose.

The 31-year-old Icelander — who has his own nickname, "Thor" — stands an intimidating 6 foot 9 inches and weighs 425 pounds, and won the World's Strongest Man competition back in 2018. The previous deadlift world record, of 500 kilograms or 1,102.31 pounds, was set in 2016 by Eddie Hall.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Explore More
Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.