Classy moment caught between The Mountain and new strongest man on Earth

Game of Thrones star The Mountain has been filmed behind the scenes making a gesture of pure class to the new strongest man on the planet.

Hafthor Julius Bjornsson — famously known as The Mountain from Game of Thrones — has been filmed making a gesture of pure class just seconds after he watched his World’s Strongest Man title slip from his grip.

Bjornsson, the iconic 200kg beast, was fighting to defend his 2018 World’s Strongest man crown, but had to settle for third-place after being cooked by his former training partner Martins “The Dragon” Licis.

Licis, who weighs in 50kg lighter than Bjornsson, stunned the world to win the title for the first time after never previously breaking onto the event’s final podium.

In the 2019 event, held in Florida’s Manatee Public Beach Park, Licis was simply unstoppable as he beat out his bigger rivals Bjornsson and second place-winner Mateusz Kieliszkowski of Poland by placing first in two of the five finals events, winning the 750 pound squat lift and the Atlas Stone lift, where contestants lift and place iron balls weighing up to 200kg.

Licis was fully aware he’d done enough in the final Atlas Stone lift final event to be crowned champion and he was able to begin celebrating his status as the strongest man on Earth immediately after his final left.

As the crowd went wild, Bjornsson was spotted darting from his spot on the edge of the competition zone to rush up to the man who had just conquered him.

Rather than be upset, Bjornsson embraced his former training partner in a crushing bear hug as the emotion — and four brutal days of competition — took a toll on the roughest blokes on Earth.

The acting star’s classy gesture to the man he helped become the new World’s Strongest Man champion was also met with a round of applause from the live spectators, according to a video posted on Reddit.

The Mountain also had reason to celebrate, his third-place finish saw him keep his record streak going of eight straight years on the World’s Strongest Man podium.

Just like his “GoT” character, Bjornsson, 30, didn’t go down without a fight.

Bjornsson was not at 100 per cent for most of the competition. He was limping during the first day of qualifying rounds, and it was later confirmed that he tore his plantar fascia, the fibrous tissue along the bottom of the foot that connects the heal bone to the toes, The New York Post reports.

In March, Licis finished 4.5 points behind Bjornsson in the Arnold Strongman Classic in Ohio.

Licis admitted to always getting beaten by Bjornsson when training together — making his big day even more special that he was able to topple his former mentor.

“Placing second in the Arnold was like a wake-up call and especially being that close to Thor. I knew I could win [World’s Strongest Man],” Licis said.

This is the 12th victory for the U.S. in the World’s Strongest Man in the 42 year history of the event.

Licis, who lives in California, was born in Latvia, so he considers his victory the first for Latvia as well.