Hafthor Bjornsson had a very specific reason for retiring from strongman.
Retirement. It’s an inevitability for all humans. Whether that means working a desk job or being the strongest person on the planet, eventually one has to call it quits.
In high level competitive sense it could be due to injuries or sustained damage over a period of times. Sometimes things can be far more complex than that. The idea of politics within a chosen sport preventing you from excelling can also be a reason for hanging it up.
There are times when we could see a comeback of legends looking to show they still have something left in the tank. But for the most part when an athlete decides to walk away they do so for good.
It appears that’s exactly what 2018 World’s Strongest Man Hafthor Bjornsson intends to do.
Winning a number of strongman competitions over the years, Hafthor Bjornsson has proven himself to be a force of nature in the sport. A true champion with his fair share of clout, the man known as “The Mountain” had little left to prove when he retired from competition. While he may just be 32 years old, Hafthor Bjornsson chose to walk away at the height of his powers.
So why did he walk away? The Icelandic powerlifter went in depth in a recent YouTube video.
“The main reason why because I was happy with everything I did in strongman,” said Bjornsson. “I won World’s Strongest Man, I won the Arnold Strongman Classic three years in a row, I won Europe’s Strongest Man five times, I won Iceland’s Strongest Man ten times in a row, I won World’s Ultimate Strongman. I won everything there is to win in the strength world, at least all the big titles. And I was just happy. That’s the thing guys, I was happy. I was happy that I was able to win all these shows but still be healthy, and I wanted to stay healthy.
“I want to stay healthy for my daughter and my son. That’s the reason why I retired. I got another opportunity with the boxing against Eddie, and I thought to myself ‘I’m going to take that opportunity, say yes to it, and retire from strongman and be happy, be healthy. I want to be around for my kids for a long time, and staying 205kg is not good, it’s not healthy. I’m 32 years old, so I’m not getting any younger so I have to start thinking about my health and my future. That’s the main reason I retired from strongman. I wanted to be healthy, I wanted to be on Earth longer for my family.”
“I want to stay healthy for my daughter and my son. That’s the reason why I retired. I got another opportunity with the boxing against Eddie, and I thought to myself ‘I’m going to take that opportunity, say yes to it, and retire from strongman and be happy, be healthy. I want to be around for my kids for a long time, and staying 205kg is not good, it’s not healthy. I’m 32 years old, so I’m not getting any younger so I have to start thinking about my health and my future. That’s the main reason I retired from strongman. I wanted to be healthy, I wanted to be on Earth longer for my family.”
Check out the full video here.
Ultimately it’s all about family and health for Hafthor Bjornsson. What do you make of his reasoning for retiring from strongman competition?
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Managing Editor at Generation Iron, Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Sound Cloud for in-depth MMA analysis.
