It looks like strongman Thor Bjornsson has a softer side.
Fans of Thor Bjornsson were delighted when the famed strongman and actor opened up about his fitness journey onstage in a post-show interview with Arnold Schwarzenegger. You can watch the video of Thor Bjornsson’s epic win and subsequent victory speech above.
Bjornsson, who is best known for being the only person to ever win the Strongman Classic, Europe’s Strongest Man, and World’s Strongest Man in one year, as well as playing Gregor “The Mountain” Clegane for four seasons of Game of Thrones, was overwhelmed recently after a first place win at the Arnold Strongman Classic. The moment was made even sweeter when the man himself came onstage to congratulate him on the win and the two men shared the stage for a few brief moments to talk about their fitness journeys and goals they’ve set for themselves.
“So tell me, how much time did you spend on this,” Arnold asked Thor Bjornsson, who famously claimed he would do whatever it took to win the competition.
“Firstly, thank you so much, Arnold,” said Bjornsson. “I spent seventeen weeks — honestly, I trained all year long — but I spent seventeen weeks specifically training for this event. That means, um, my life is all about this. Eating, sleeping, recovery…my main focus, for seventeen weeks. This event.”
The crowd erupted into applause at these statements. Clearly, Bjornsson put the time in and pushed himself beyond his limits, and the results spoke for themselves. He walked away with an incredible first place finish at one of the most competitive, high-stakes fitness competitions in the world and a congratulations from the man himself.
Later in the video, Bjornsson starts to get emotional about how far he’s come, how difficult it was to make it down the long road to that stage, and how proud he is of his journey. You can really see how much Arnold relates and the two share a moment onstage in front of fans that is truly sweet and memorable.
This was not the first win for veteran champion Bjornsson, who also nabbed an impressive Arnold Strongman first in 2019 and 2018. Before that, he placed second in 2017 and earned one of the top ten spots in every Arnold Strongman going back to 2012. Clearly, there’s a reason they picked him to play The Mountain — his physique really is mountainous, and he’s set multiple world records in many of the shows he’s placed. Bjornsson was the World’s Strongest Man in 2018, though he dropped to third in the 2019 contest. But, coming off a stellar performance like this at the Arnold Strongman, who’s to say what happens next? Clearly, he’s showing off some of the best mass and conditioning in his professional career. Thor Bjornsson could easily reclaim the title this year and looks to give strong performances in every show to come.
*All images and media courtesy of YouTube.
