Hafthor Bjornsson's leg was clearly not straight when the second push began. Photo / Youtube
Hafthor Bjornsson's leg was clearly not straight when the second push began. Photo / Youtube
Hafthor Bjornsson's bitter rivalry with fellow former World's Strongest Man world champion Eddie Hall is at boiling point after revelations the Game of Thrones star was busted during the famous 2017 Finals.
Bjornsson, who played The Mountain in the hit HBO program, has for three years claimed he was "robbed" when Hall and referee "Colin Bryce" worked together to "cheat" him out of the title.
Now secret footage has captured the moment Bjornsson was penalised a point during the 2017 Viking lift — a point that allowed Hall to win the event and go on to win the title in Botswana.
A furious Bjornsson has been captured in behind the scenes footage released this week threatening to leave in the middle of the competition if the referees did not overturn their decision.
It culminated in a heated moment during the trophy presentation where Hall was named world champion before his handshake offer to Bjornsson was famously snubbed.
Their rivalry escalated earlier this month when the strong man from Iceland toppled Hall's deadlift record by 1kg as he set a new record with a 501kg lift before challenging Hall to a boxing fight.
It was a threat that Hall has accepted — and both men have been filmed training inside the boxing ring as they reportedly look towards sanctioned fight later this year.
Hall has used the renewed rivalry to re-visit the greatest controversy in the history of the World's Strongest Man contest — claiming to have footage that proves Bjornsson "should be ashamed" for claiming he was robbed.
Hall is now demanding an apology after claiming Bjornsson's claims smeared his world title win.
"At the end of the day, he got his a*** handed to him in a strongman competition and the little p**** cat can't take it. That's it," he said recently.
The 32-year-old took to YouTube this week to pass on secret footage from behind the scenes at the 2017 event, which he says proves Bjornsson was beaten fair and square.
The footage, which is part of a documentary by filmmaker Andrew Quinn, shows Bjornsson during his viking lift — the event where he finished second to Hall with 14 reps in the one-minute allowed.
It shows the 205kg monster lifting 13 reps, ignoring judges' warnings that he was not holding the bar for long enough at the top of each rep above his head.
He is also warned about breaking the rules of the lift which demands only one push while the lifter's legs are bent. The rules state the legs must be locked straight when the lift is being completed.
Under the rules, a second illegal push from the body with bent legs results in the rep being disqualified.
The vision shows Bjornsson lifting the final two reps with a clear second push with bent legs. Referee Bryce said at the time he took the second one off Bjornsson after giving him a series of warnings.
"Perhaps it was Eddie who was cheated out of the World's Strongest Man glory he always dreamt of," he said.
Hall said in the YouTube clip it is time for Bjornsson to admit he was wrong.
"Before I even got home to my friends and family, one man took bad sportsmanship to a whole new level and it was plastered all over the world's media," Hall says.
"Hafthor Bjornsson and his entourage have been smearing my title and the referee Colin Bryce's reputation for the last three years. And because he was the mountain from Game of Thrones and he was a huge TV star people listened and people believed him."
He says he is going to knock Bjornsson out when they settle their differences in the boxing ring.
"I have to say this video stopped me in my tracks – how desperate a man can be when things don't go his way," he said of Bjornsson's carry-on behind the scenes.
"This video exposes the raw truth and it shows you what really happened behind the scenes at the 2017 World's Strongest Man. It's time for the truth to be told.
"Hafthor Bjornsson, you and your yes men should be ashamed of yourselves. Words are cheap and I'm sick and tired of hearing the lies coming out of your mouths. You used to be a good man and believe it or not, I used to classify you a good friend. But you've been poisoned by your yes men."
