| Hjalti Árnason | |
| Birth Date: | 18 February 1963 |
| Birth Place: | Reykjavík |
| Occupation: | Strongman and Powerlifter |
| Nationality: | Icelandic |
| Weight: | NaNabbr=onNaNabbr=on |
Hjalti 'Úrsus' Árnason (born 18 February 1963),[1] is an Icelandic former strongman, powerlifter and a strength sports promoter. Known by the nickname 'The Great Ursus', Hjalti first began in strength sports by competing as a junior powerlifter in 1983. He also coached Jón Páll Sigmarsson and won the 1988 Le Defi Mark Ten International. Hjalti also competed with Magnús Ver Magnússon in Pure Strength team competitions in 1989 & 1990.[1]
Hjalti was born in Reykjavík in 1963.[2] He grew up in the same neighbourhood as Jón Páll Sigmarsson and they attended the same school. His sports career began with training in karate and he also participated in soccer, handball, and track and field. He had a talent for powerlifting and shot to fame when he began competing internationally from 1983. In that year, he came first in the Junior European Championships and made the senior national team. Then he began to compete in Strongman to make a living as a semi-professional. He found at an early stage that powerlifting had little money or publicity associated with it and also his friend, Jón Páll, was beginning to make waves in the higher-profile world of the World's Strongest Man and its associated circuit. His forays into strength athletics consisted of a mixture of Strength athletics including Highland Games. It was noted that Hjalti primarily relied on his 'brute strength' and sacrificed technique and suffered from a lack of proper, regular coaching.[2]
In 1985, Hjalti competed in the very first Iceland's Strongest Man contest[3] and was second to Jón Páll whilst Magnús Ver Magnússon came third. He would repeat podium finishes in this contest multiple times whilst in the company of two men who between them won the World's Strongest Man title eight times. In one such contest, his 'animalistic approach' was demonstrated when he broke his opponent's arm in an arm wrestling bout.[2] Upon being asked to do 'something spectacular for the TV cameras' by a sponsor, he was reported to have picked the sponsor up by an arm and a leg and hurled him some distance to the astonishment of bystanders.[2]
On the world stage, he was a top performer in Highland Games. His wrestling match with Bill Kazmaier at Earlshall has been described as one of the best ever.[2] He was highly rated at the World Muscle Power Championships and in breaking the world record in the platform lift, became the first European to win the prestigious Le Defi Mark Ten International in Canada. However, in his only appearance at World's Strongest Man in 1996, he failed to qualify for the finals. Prior to that, he had been to many events as a tester, alongside his friend Mark Higgins. Prior to 1994, the WSM had a limited field with no heats. As such countries were rarely granted multiple competitor places. For Hjalti, when in the prime of his strength sporting career, this left him in the shadow of Jón Páll, and later the rise of Magnús Ver Magnússon. This has been described by David Webster as a pity because "he was undoubtedly one of the world's strongest men."[2]
Hjalti continued to compete as a powerlifter and won the +125 kg super heavyweight class of the IPF World Powerlifting Championships in 1991 in Örebro, Sweden. But he was later disqualified and the title passed to Hans Zerhoch. Hjalti was the first Icelander to break the 1000 kg barrier in the total (squat, bench press & deadlift).[4]
Powerlifting (performed in single-ply equipment)
Strongman
→ Hjalti has carried the Húsafell Stone 52.45m (172.08feet) during training in late 80s
From his marriage to Ethel Karlsdóttir, Hjalti has two sons, Greipur (born 1989) and Árni (born 1992). After divorcing, he moved in with his girlfriend, Halla Heimisdóttir. His brother is a noted musician in Iceland.[2]
Outside of sports, his careers were multiple and varied. He was a bouncer, a caring supervisor in a psychiatric hospital, a security agent, a debt collector, and a system administrator for Post and Telecom in Iceland.
Hjalti also remained close to sport and became a major promoter of strongman and other strength athletics in Iceland. He created and organized the Jón Páll Sigmarsson Classic from 2010 to 2012[5] and to this date organizes and hosts the countries main Strongman title Iceland's Strongest Man.