HYROX is a fitness competition that combines 8km of running and eight functional workout stations. [1]
Hyrox was founded by Olympic hockey champion Moritz Fürste and Christian Toetzke, and first introduced in Hamburg, Germany in 2017. The first Hyrox event had 650 participants. [2]
According to Fürste, the original brief was “to create an event that is a 200,000-euro (about $214,000) production that looks like a 2,000,000-euro ($2,144,000) production”. [3]
The competition has since expanded worldwide, with 24,000 people taking part in Hyrox events in London alone in 2023. [4] [2] A network of Hyrox-affiliated gyms has also been established. [5]
Every competition starts with a 1 km run, followed by one functional movement, and these two elements are repeated eight times. [6] The order of the movements as they appear in the race is as follows: [7]
^Note A The weights the participants have to carry/push/pull, and the number of repetition may vary depending on gender and divisions. [8]
Many HYROX competitions are held around the world every year, and no qualification is required for athletes to these competitions. Competitors may compete as a single, or in doubles as a two-person team, or in team relay. There are 4 divisions: women, women pro, men, men pro. For doubles, there are doubles women, doubles men and doubles mixed. [8]
The most important competition is the HYROX World Championships. Competitors can qualify for the World Championships by becoming one of the Elite 15 in Individual Pro races. Those with the best time in the Pro division in a global leaderboard receive an invitation to the Elite race series such as the European Championships and the North America Championships. The podium finishers in these competitions qualify for the elite races in the World Championship. [9]
The first HYROX World Championships was held in Oberhausen, Germany, in 2019, with over 600 participants. [10]