Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson is an Icelandic professional strongman who is widely regarded as one of the greatest strength athletes of all time. He is the first and only person to have won the Arnold Strongman Classic, the 展开

Hafþór was born on 26 November 1988 in Reykjavík, Iceland. When he was eleven years old, his family moved to Kópavogur. He received his primary education at Grundaskóli and then Hjallaskóli hill school, but due to high levels of energy as a … 展开

Hafþór began his athletic career as a basketball player, playing as a center with a bodyweight of around 105 kg (231 lb). He started his senior team career for the Icelandic 1. deild karla club Breiðablik in 2004. The following season, he transferred to FSu Selfoss 展开

After recovering from the ankle injury, and inspired by Ronnie Coleman and Dorian Yates, Hafþór trained like a bodybuilder. One day, when four-time World's Strongest Man champion Magnús Ver Magnússon spotted the twenty-year-old, 6 ft 9 in, 140 kg (309 lb) Hafþór … 展开

On 2 May 2020, after breaking the Deadlift World Record, Hafþór challenged its previous record holder, Eddie Hall, to a boxing match. Despite having no boxing experience whatsoever, Hafþór learned the fundamentals of the sport and made commendable progress … 展开

Martial arts
Since beginning with boxing, Hafþór has stayed involved in a range of martial arts. In 2020, he appeared on episode ten of Karate Combat, with Bas Rutten and Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Josh Palmer, prior to having a training … 展开

Family and relationships
Hafþór has been accused by several ex-girlfriends of domestic violence, including Thelma Björk Steimann (the mother of his daughter), who feared for her life once during a vacation. She pressed charges, but the police … 展开