The World’s Strongest Man championship has given the community some of the most legendary athletes ever. A notable edition of this championship was in 2016, where icons like Hafthor Bjornsson, Brian Shaw, Eddie Hall, and Mateusz Kieliszkowski locked horns for the grand prize. Despite the heavy competition, Bjornsson almost pulled off one of the most insane feats in the championship – pulling an 88,000-pound plane. The official page of World’s Strongest Man posted a clip from back in the day.
One of the rounds demanded the athletes pull a C-130 Hercules airship for 25 meters. This wasn’t a challenge for the weak, and Bjornsson was up for it. The video featured ‘The Mountain’ tugging at a rope to pull the giant vehicle through the designated path.
The twist to the entire tale, however, was unfortunate. None of the athletes won the event, as no one could drag the plane all the way. Bjornsson narrowly missed the mark by 0.10 m.
In the end, Shaw emerged as the winner of the title, and the Icelandic athlete stood second. Despite the disappointment, Bjornsson’s stunt with the plane might make it into history books. Current-day strongman enthusiasts immediately took to the comments under the post and voiced their opinions.
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Most fans were simply impressed by his sheer strength.
“Half man half Thor!”
One jokingly compared the feat to their woes of parallel parking.
“People like this don’t parallel park. They pull up next to the spot and just push it into place sideways”
An enthusiast even tried to make sense of the training he would’ve had to go through to pull a plane.
“Genuine question: how tf do you train for that. I don’t think many gym can fit a plane inside”
While the WSM championships do not seem to have a plane pulling round lately, a fan earnestly demanded.
“Bring Back The Plane Pull Please”
Finally, a fellow enthusiast speculated about Bjornsson’s return this year, since he also made his epic comeback with the Arnold Strongman Classic.
“Soooo is he competing this year?”
While Bjornsson may not have won the round or the championship in 2016, his stint with the plane earned him brownie points among the masses. It also set his place amongst the strongman community as one of the GOATs. This year, he returned and made sure that his name echoed in the arena as he pulled off some jaw-dropping stunts.
Hafthor Bjornsson stuns the Arnold Strongman Classic with weight throws
Not many are blessed with the physical capabilities of the 6’9 giant, who has always impressed fans with his strength. Recently, the Arnold Strongman Classic UK witnessed the return of the Icelandic athlete, where Bjornsson went on to register a few effortless wins. His USP was one of the key rounds in the championship, called the David Webster Memorial Weight Throw.
The round called for athletes to hurl a 56-pound weight over various heights in a minute. Each participant gets three attempts before the height of the bar is increased. In a last-man-standing situation, whoever could go above and beyond the tallest height wins. Bjornsson’s throws were so effortless, that they went above the maximum height of the bar stand. While his height was what worked in his favor, hardcore fans were overjoyed to see their GOAT back.
