Hyrox boom ignites Olympic dream for sport disruptor as top performers turn professional
Launched in 2017, sporting newcomer targets place in 2032 Games, as world champion Alyssa McElheny secures life-changing Adidas deal
From around 650 competitors at its first event to more than one million participants worldwide today, Hyrox has gone from niche fitness challenge to global phenomenon with its sights set on the Olympics in less than a decade.
A structured indoor activity divided into eight segments, each involving a one-kilometre run followed by a fitness exercise, Hyrox attracts tens of thousands of competitors to its biggest events.
Its mix of stop-start runs, easy-to-learn exercises, competition and community has proved popular with everyone from elite athletes to everyday exercisers, and organisers believe the sky is the limit in terms of growth.
“We have close to 1.5 million people at some stage this year taking part in our events,” Deepak Raj, the Hyrox India head, told Reuters.
“We’re in 35-plus countries, 100-plus cities, and each of the events is getting bigger in participation levels.
“It’s hard to put a ceiling [on it] when we know there are gyms where some people haven’t even done a Hyrox, or haven’t maybe even heard of it in some countries.”