The HYROX Elite 15 Races for the Season 2024/25 kicked off with record-breaking performances and fierce rivalries, as the world’s top athletes raced for glory in Amsterdam.
Amsterdam, Netherlands, Oct 11, 2024: The HYROX Elite 15 races for the season kicked off with strong performances all-round in the 1st edition of the major races for the season 2024/25 in Amsterdam, on Thursday evening October 10th, with the world’s best HYROX athletes fighting to finish in the top three of their races, winning a chance to compete in the sport’s ultimate competition, the HYROX World Championships.
Among the competitors in Amsterdam were Red Bull Athlete and HYROX Men’s Doubles World Champion Jake Dearden, Elite 15 Season 2023/24 Women’s World Champion Megan Jacoby, Three-Time Women’s World Champion Lauren Weeks, and Elite 15 Season 2023/24 Men’s World Champion Alexander Roncevic – all returning after the summer break and the HYROX World Championships held in Nice in June of this year.
For viewers and judges of the Amsterdam Major race the burning question wasn’t just about winning – it was about who had pushed themselves hardest in the off-season who had conquered their weaknesses and who had the endurance and mental fortitude to rise as the strongest as the season begins?
Women’s Elite 15 race results: Lauren Weeks impresses in the 1ST HYROX Major race of the season with new record time
HYROX Major Amsterdam Day One began with the women’s Elite 15 race. Buoyed by a lively crowd, Three-Time Women’s World Champion Lauren Weeks, LA champion Lauren Griffith, and reigning champion Megan Jacoby battled for first place.
At the mid-point the three were neck and neck coming into the burpees station. At times, there was just one second difference between Weeks and Jacoby.
Ultimately, Weeks claimed victory, in a finishing time of 57:28 min – shattering the previous world record of 58.03 she set in Vienna earlier this year.
Reigning world champion Megan Jacoby finished second in 58:00 min; the American stayed composed throughout the race, showing her class, but could not quite keep up with her long-time rival Lauren Weeks this time. “It was an absolute fight out there today,” Jacoby said post-race. “This is a test, and the big goal is the World Championships.”
The race showed that there is probably going to be a battle at the top this season between Weeks and Jacoby.
“The course was very smooth… it was definitely set up for a fast run,” Weeks said post-race. “My run felt really, really good.” As for the toughest part she said: “I’m always so nervous before I hit the sleds because some days, they’re hard, and some days they fly.”
Weeks had previously said she wasn’t “HYROX race-ready” due to it being so early in the season and having not had chance to train specific stations.
A three-time World Champion, 34-year-old American Weeks is one of the most successful competitors in the history of the sport. In 2022, she even competed in the HYROX World Championships while eight months pregnant, finishing in the top ten.
“Every race is different,” Weeks says. “I can’t go in with the expectation that I’m going to feel great every single race… Sometimes I start my first run feeling amazing, sometimes I’ll feel ‘today is going to be a long one’. It’s just knowing you must give it your all every single time,” Weeks said of her pre-race mindset.
Despite not feeling race-feet, she had spent the off season widening her skill set and enjoying herself. “I actually had a lot of fun,” she says. “I wouldn’t say that I dialed in my training, I jumped into some road races. I did some trail races. I did some obstacle course races. I tried to spread my wings and try different things.
As for the future, Weeks is cautious about peaking too early and is unsure about attending the HYROX event in Hong Kong in late November, as it would take her away from her now two-year-old daughter.
At 22, and in her rookie debut, third place winner in 59:28 mins and former tennis player Johanna Wietrzyk was mentioned by women’s winner Lauren Weeks as being able to bridge the sport to the next generation. “I was lagging and chipping away… I was proud of myself,” Wietrzyk said. “I stuck to my race plan, and it clearly worked.”
Men’s Elite 15 race results: World Champion Alexander Roncevic holds strong
Thirty-four-year-old Austrian Alexander Roncevic – who comes from a swimming background, and having won the 2024 Elite 15 HYROX World Championship at Nice’s Palais des Expositions earlier this year is regarded as the best in the sport – took an early lead coming into the ski erg with Australian James Kelly close on his heels.
American Rylan Schadegg was not far behind. 36 minutes in, Kelly found himself ahead of previous World Champion and discipline legend Hunter McIntyre’s record time at this stage in the previous race – as was Roncevic who quickly overtook him.
The pair fought it out all the way to the end, glancing back over their shoulders to check where the other was. In the final event, the wall balls, Roncevic was a handful of reps ahead of Kelly at the start, until four no-reps cost him a delay. Then Kelly dropped the ball, getting ahead by four more reps.
In the end, it was Roncevic who bagged the title, finishing in 53.31 min – the sport’s second-best time ever – followed by Kelly in 53:53 min dipping just under the 54-minute mark. Hunter McIntyre, who holds the world record of 52:33 min, was a notable absence in the race.
“All the people expecting something from you, it’s a bit of pressure, but I love HYROX and the community so it’s fun just coming here,” Roncevic said on his first time defending a championship, adding that he’s now ready to focus on Chicago.
“With being a World Champion, some confidence comes with it,” Roncevic continued. “My goal was to set the pace for myself. I knew it was going to be a running game, and James is a better runner, but I knew I was going to crush on the stations and that’s what happened. The wall balls were pretty close, but I knew I was going to make it.”
“We played a bit around,” Roncevic added of his back and forth with Kelly. “Everything my side was under control.”
In his own post-race interview, the Australian legend Kelly was reflective. “The first thing I said to him was I thought I broke him twice,” he said, referencing when Roncevic stopped for a water break, and a moment post-farmer’s carry. “Kudos to Roncevic, he’s come back strong and proven he’s the man to beat,” Kelly said.
In the meantime, Roncevic isn’t a full-time athlete – he works also as a teacher in Vienna. “HYROX is more like a hobby for me,” he says. His training is focused on running. “The better you run, the better you’ll be at HYROX,” he says. “In an Open race, if you’re going for Pro, you need to lift weights and get stronger too. But overall, get better on your runs and you’ll drop your HYROX time.”
Roncevic’s approach is unconventional. “My training is always way harder than the race,” he admits. “In practice, I have my friends around me when I do wall balls and they are throwing things at me to distract me, and I try to keep going.”
Athletes to watch in the 2024/25 season
With HYROX evolving beyond its early stages, fans can anticipate the emergence of new names at the top of the sport.
In Amsterdam, several competitors harried the fan favorites.
Kate Davey from Great Britain also made her presence known around the midway point after a slow start, eventually finishing fourth.
In his first-ever Elite 15 race, Jake Dearden made a strong impression as one of HYROX’s rising stars. Coming off an exceptional athletic feat—running the Berlin Marathon in 2:28, followed by a new personal best at HYROX Pro Cape Town, all within a span of just two weeks – Jake showed immense versatility and determination. Stepping up from Open Pro to the intense competition of Elite 15, Jake embraced the challenge with optimism. “It’s a different atmosphere – fewer competitors, more pressure, and stronger rivals,” he shared. While he finished 11th, Jake remains unfazed and eager to improve. “This experience was humbling, but it’s where the real learning happens. It’s a steppingstone towards my ultimate goal: making it to the Elite 15 at the World Championships.” With his hunger to excel and willingness to grow from every race, Jake Dearden is a talent to watch in the HYROX world.
Endurance over strength: Jacoby and Dearden reveal how they’re mastering the HYROX challenge
Every HYROX race requires endurance, mental toughness, and physical strength for athletes to complete a series of eight timed fitness challenges interspersed with 1km runs.
The consistency of format across all event locations means athletes can hone their craft season after season, while also opening the sport up to amateurs alike.
“My biggest thing with this sport is my consistency,” says women’s second place finisher Megan Jacoby. Even if I’m having a bad day, my ability to fight through and remain consistent performance wise is something I’m proud of.”
As the women’s competitors only professional HYROX athlete, Jacoby knows that it’s vital to build up her endurance and skill, season on season. “The biggest thing I took away from last season is that when my endurance is very high, I’m very difficult to beat,” she says. “I put a lot of emphasis on my running, and my endurance training.”
As one of the sport’s rising stars, Jake Dearden is going all out. After realizing his running was his weak spot he made it his focus, hired a coach and entered the marathon because “I needed an extreme goal to push myself,” he says. “I like to go out for long runs as this builds the mindset for racing.”
What is HYROX and how does the fitness race work?
Founded in November 2017 with its first season held in 2019, HYROX is a fitness competition combining 8km of running with eight functional workout stations. It bills itself as “The World Series of Fitness Racing” and “A sport for Everybody”. Open to amateurs and professionals alike, it is the world’s fastest-growing hybrid fitness race with over 40+ global races held in 2023, with over 90,000 athletes participating, watched by 50,000 spectators.
“The growth of HYROX is just incredible to see,” says HYROX co-founder Moritz Fürste. “We’re expecting over 600,000 placements this year which makes us not a niche sport anymore. That’s beautiful to see.”
“I think the beauty of HYROX is we didn’t reinvent the wheel,” Fürste continues. “We just took the two biggest sports in the world – running and fitness – and combined them into an actual competition. HYROX is a way that people in gyms globally are already training… we are very accessible, although it’s tough. In theory we could all stack up on the start line right now and we’d be able to finish.”
As for the future, Fürste says “I think that the growth of this sport just shows that there’s a lot of dedication. We want to have HYROX events in the 150 biggest cities in the world. The ultimate goal is to make HYROX fitness racing an Olympic sport.”
Upcoming World Championship Location revealed
HYROX has revealed that the next World Championship will take place in Chicago, at the historic Navy Pier June 12-15, 2025.
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– News Cut WOMEN´s & Men´s COMPETITION (16:9) with shotlist & transcript (incl. Interviews about the HYROX history) –> via RED BULL CONTENT POOL
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