Hafthor Bjornsson, the actor best known for playing ‘The Mountain’ in Game of Thrones, recently suffered a major injury while attempting to bench press 556 pounds (252 kilograms) at his Thor Power Gym.
Unfortunately, Bjornsson tore his left pec completely off the bone, causing him to scream in agony. The incident was caught on camera and has since gone viral.
Grappling Injury
In addition to his weightlifting pursuits, Bjornsson has also been exploring other athletic endeavors, such as grappling. Icelandic UFC welterweight Gunnar Nelson recently shared that he experienced a painful injury after grappling with Bjornsson.
During their match, Nelson heard a “nasty pop” and felt the upper right side of his ribs swelling. Despite the pain, Nelson chose to continue the match and admitted that the experience was both fun and probably stupid.
Other Grappling Endeavors
Bjornsson has also tested himself against Gordon Ryan recently. In a recent appearance on the Food truck diaries, Ryan discussed the viral videos and the significance of the grappling encounter with Bjornsson.
“This is good because when I meet, like, a regular person who they just people are like’ Oh men, If the guy was just way bigger, it would never work.’. Now I can say I literally grappled the strongest person on the planet. And I promise you, jiu-jitsu works.”
The Injury
In the video, you can clearly see Bjornsson’s pec tearing as the weight is lowered, and you can even hear it snap. The spotters quickly lifted the barbell off his chest as he cried out in pain. Bjornsson had only recently returned to powerlifting after a two-year absence to pursue a career in boxing, where he notably defeated his rival Eddie Hall. He was interested in returning to competition to break a number of lifting records.
Reactions to the Injury
After popular page ‘Lifting Vault’ posted the clip to YouTube, fans flooded the comments section with well-wishes for Bjornsson’s speedy recovery. One person said, “Saw this live, absolutely devastating. Wishing him a fast recovery,” while another added, “Unfortunately, this stuff can happen when you put on so much muscle and increase the weights so quickly.”
As a third commented, “Hoping for a speedy recovery for Thor. This was always a possibility from hopping back on cycle and growing muscle this quickly; he hasn’t had enough time for his tendons to match that growth.”
