Last Updated on November 12, 2023
Hafthor Bjornsson of Iceland won the Arnold Strongman Classic title for the third straight year with another dominating performance at the 2020 Arnold Sports Festival. The event also serves as the Arnold Pro Strongman World Championship.
Bjornsson was competing in the Arnold Strongman Classic for the 10th straight year. He won the title in 2019 and 2018 after finishing second in 2017 and fifth in 2016. He also won World’s Strongest Man in 2018.
Mateusz Kieliszkowski of Poland finished in second place after a third-place showing in 2019. Martins Licis of Los Angeles, the current World’s Strongest Man who finished second in Columbus last year, was third.
Bjornsson, who is best known in some circles as the actor who played “The Mountain” on Game Of Thrones, dominated with two first-place finishes, one second-place and one third-place among the first five events. Bjornsson won Bag Over Bar and the ROGUE Elephant Bar Deadlift while placing second in the Trial By Stone and third in the Wheel of Pain. Bjornsson won the Elephant Bar Deadlift with a pull of 1,026 pounds.
In Cyr Strategic Challenge, the final event contested during the Arnold Classic, Bjornsson needed only one rep at 280 pounds to secure his third straight Arnold Strongman Classic title. He added one rep at 300 pounds for good measure.
Kieliszkowski won an impressive three of the first five events (Trial By Stone, Wheel Of Pain and Timber Carry) but was hampered by an 8th-place finish in the Elephant Bar Deadlift. In the Cyr Strategic Challenge, Kieliszkowski brought the crowd to its feet with a world-record 320-pound lift after opening at 300 pounds.
For the victory, Bjornsson received congratulations from Arnold Schwarzenegger, $72,000, and the Louis Cyr Trophy. Kieliszkowski earned $22,000 for finishing second.
The Arnold Pro Strongman World Series features qualifying events at Arnold Sports Festival events and select stand-alone competitions around the world, with winners advancing to compete in the Arnold Pro Strongman World Series Championship at the Arnold Sports Festival.
2020 Arnold Pros Strongman Final Results
- 1st place (52.5 points): Hafthor Bjornsson of Iceland, $72,000
- 2nd place (50.5): Mateusz Kieliszkowski of Poland, $22,000
- 3rd place (36.5): Martins Licis of Los Angeles, $17,000
- 4th place (33): Jean-Francois Caron of Canada, $12,000
- 5th place (31): Oleksii Novikov of Ukraine, $10,000
- 6th place (29), tie: Mikhail Shivlyakov of Russia, $6,500 and Rob Kearney of Easthampton, Mass., $6,500
- 8th place (27): Jerry Pritchett of Phoenix, Ariz., $4,000.
- 9th place (24): Bobby Thompson of Fredericksburg, Virginia $3,000.
- 10th place (17.5): Matjaz Belsak of Estonia, $2,000.
The 2020 Arnold Strongman Classic was contested over two days in five events: Trial By Stone, Bag Over Bar, Wheel Of Pain, ROGUE Elephant Bar Deadlift, Timber Carry and Cyr Strategic Challenge.
The 2020 Arnold Strongman Classic is sponsored by ROGUE Fitness, REIGN Total Body Fuel, GO RUCK, Kinda Fit Kinda Fat, Theragun and Victis CBD.
For more information and complete results, visit www.arnoldsportsfestival.com and www.roguefitness.com
