Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, aka The Mountain, has said that he refuses to accept the title of ‘world’s second strongest’, despite yesterday having lost out to Brit Eddie Hall in the World’s Strongest Man 2017 competition.
The two colossal men squared off over nine days in Botswana, where they ran a very tight race. In fact, so little was between them that the deciding factor turned out to be a single viking press rep.
During the viking press event, the Game of Thrones star managed 15 reps—the same as Hall—but was penalised for double dipping during hit last one, something he vehemently refutes. Should the last rep have stood, Hafþór would have taken home the gold, but instead he had to settle for being number two.
“This weekend I was robbed. The integrity of my beloved sport is in question,” Hafþór wrote on Instagram below a grave picture of himself, which he later deleted.
Appeal rejected
Hafþór feels certain that the title was his and, therefore, he lodged an official complaint requesting that video footage of his last rep be reviewed.
“They rejected my motion for an appeal and did not look at the videos of the rep that cost me tht title,” Hafþór told Morgunblaðið. “It is incredibly frustrating when something you’ve worked this hard for is taken away from you.”
Constant also ran
This is the sixth time Hafþór has finished in the top three and the third time he has taken home the silver.
“I want to be the strongest man in the world, and I believe I am the strongest,” Hafþór said. “I can’t stop, I would regret it for the rest of my life, I am 28 and I am improving year by year.”
We wish to offer our sympathies to Hafþór and we hope that he will gauge the eyes out of the competition next year (and maybe the judges as well, if need be).
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