Update – Live Coverage Videos Here!
Pro & Open Waves
The event will take place April 10, 2021 in Dallas, Texas. As with every Hyrox event, there are pro waves of competition. At the end of the pro waves, the athletes with the fastest times are rewarded. The heats are limited, so someone going in the second wave may finish faster than someone in the first wave and be ahead on the leaderboard.
The top 3 men and women are awarded cash prizes. The payouts for the pro wave are typically $1500/$1000/$500.
For this event, since there will be additional money allotted for the Invitational Wave, the pro prizes will be lowered to $1000/$500/$250.
There are also age group awards, but just like Spartan or Savage, you get the podium pic, but no cash. Same goes for doubles or mixed doubles categories.
In addition, there are open waves all day with scaled weights. No prizes or podiums for open waves.
The Invitational
For this first event of the year, Hyrox want to bring out some hand picked talent and showcase some of the best in the world . This invitational wave will be hand picked by Hyrox HQ with input from current champs Lauren Weeks and Hunter McIntyre.
The payouts for the Invitational are $10,000 for first, $3,000 for 2nd and $2,000 for third.
The Athletes
The men and women confirmed are below, we will update more athletes as soon as they are locked in.
Men
Where do we start? Hunter is a former Spartan Champ, a two-time Tough Mudder X Champion, was the holder of the fastest Deka Strong time, and of course, is still the man with the fastest Hyrox time in the world at 57:34. It appears as if Hunter was designed to be the best at Hyrox.
Grant has competed on the American Ninja Warrior television show for 5 seasons and his talent along with his winning personality has made him one of their most popular athletes. However, unlike most ninja warrior competitors, Grant is not a slight of build man who was designed to easily swing from bars. Grant is over 6 feet tall and roughly 205 pounds. He ranked 7th at the Spartan Games and has a half Ironman time of just over 5 hours. He held his own at Tough Mudder X against some of the fittest people in the world.
Anyone who has made it to the CrossFit games has instant credibility, and with a back squat of 475 and a dead lift over 550 pounds, strength will be no issue for him. Unlike a lot of CrossFit athletes, Elijah was a college basketball player for Tennessee Tech, and he has great speed and incredible athleticism. If you want proof, watch his performance at the 2015 CrossFit games.
Eric is a CrossFit athlete, so we know he has the strength for Hyrox. Let’s be honest though. Eric is a little on the small side to be a contender to win it all in the CrossFit world. So why would he have a chance against these beasts? Oh, did we forget to mention he has a 17-minute 5km time and is a multi-time Ironman championship competitor? You need a mix of strength, speed, and stamina to be successful in Hyrox. Eric has it all.
It must be said that if you are an Army ranger, you are bad ass. If you win the Best Ranger Competition, you are next level bad ass. Add to that being a 2nd place finisher and member of the 100-Mile Club at World’s Tougher Mudder along with being a 2-time Spartan World Champion. Well then, you are bad ass at the Robert Killian level.
Lukas is Mr. Hyrox. In 2019, Lukas was the Hyrox World Champion and holder of the fastest Hyrox finishing time (58:39), as well as 2nd place in the original Hyrox VCF. In 2020, he came in 2nd place in the Elite 12 Championship. Lukas will be hungry to take back his spot as top dog in the Hyrox world.
*Lukas was a late scratch as he had travel problems getting into the USA.
David has 30 Spartan podiums to his credit, can run a sub 16-minute 5km, a 10km in the low 30-minute range. He was also 11th in the Hyrox VCF, and if not for some issues with the 3rd workout, he would have been a contender for the top spot. More importantly, David wants this win. He did everything possible to get invited to this event.
Matt has been around the OCR world for a long time, and it is common knowledge that if it is a hybrid event where one needs massive strength as well as speed, then Matt will be a contender. With an 8th overall finish at Tough Mudder X and having already set a Hyrox time of 1:07:56, he can never be counted out.
A swim instructor from Vienna would seem like an unlikely contender but take a look at Alexander, and you will see this is no ordinary swim coach. With a Hyrox time of 1:02:29 and a 4th place finish at the latest Hyrox VCF where he caused quite a stir with a submitted 3200m time of 8:25, he has shown that he is ready to compete against the best.
Invited to initial date, out since new April date announced.
Women
Lauren’s 2020 was better than yours! She won the Hyrox Elite 12, the Hyrox at Home Championship, and the Hyrox VCF. She also won the OCR Stars Virtual event. She placed 3rd at the Spartan Games. Every time you looked up, Lauren was doing something epic. She is already off to a good start in 2021 with another Hyrox VCF win.
If you follow Obstacle Course Racing, then you already know the name Alyssa Hawley. She has been a force on the Spartan scene for years with top 5 placements in the US National Series for 2017 and 2018 and also 4th place in 2016 and 3rd place in 2017 at Spartan’s World Championships held in Tahoe. Alyssa had a bit of a sub par performance at the latest Hyrox VCF, but her showing at Hyrox Chicago in 2020 where she bested Lauren Weeks by 14 seconds with an impressive 1:10:30 shows she has what it takes to win this event.
With CrossFit accolades, dozens of Spartan podiums, a 2nd place finish at the Spartan Games, and placing 2nd and then 1st at Tough Mudder X Championships, it seemed Corinna and Hyrox were a match made in heaven. Sadly, due to some struggles with the sled push, the relationship got off to a rocky start. Even with a respectable finishing time of 1:18:27, all that is remembered is the 8 minutes and 56 seconds she spent pushing that sled. Rest assured, she is hungry for redemption.
Viola is a Hyrox specialist. She has the 5th fastest time for women, came 2nd to Lauren in the 2020 Elite 12, and 4th in the most recent Hyrox VCF. Viola has beaten the all time Hyrox women’s record holder Sarah Kholti when they went head-to-head at Hyrox Karlsruhe. Viola is a threat no matter who is on the course.
*Viola was a late scratch as he had travel problems getting into the USA.
Did someone mention that Hyrox requires power? Well Faith is our girl! She has a top 5 Deka Strong time of 14:13, just seconds behind Lauren and Corrina. She won over all our hearts at the Spartan Games where she placed 6th. We watched in awe as she completely dominated the wrestling and Highland games events and went toe-to-toe with Lauren, Corrina, and CrossFit legend Sam Briggs in all the other strength-based events.
Brooke is representing us in the over 40 crowd. As a Spartan age group Champion, and a qualifier for the Tough Mudder X Championship, along with a 2nd place overall finish at the 2019 Epic Series, she is fit to represent. Brooke finished 14th overall in the 2021 Hyrox VCF right behind former VCF winner Ehea Schuerch. She also has a Deka Strong time of 16:49 and a Hyrox time of 1:31:02.
Who has the time it takes to read all of Renee’s accomplishments? I will list a few highlights. She was an Olympic trials qualifier for every Olympic year between 2004 and 2020, has run a 15:15 5km, has run a marathon in 2 hours 27 minutes, and she holds three world records. Unlike most pro runners though, Renee is no stranger to the power game. She likes to lift.
With a 21-minute 5km and a 1 mile in just under 6 minutes, Katie may not be the fleetest of foot in this group, but her CrossFit background and 4th place finish at OCR Stars shows she has the strength and ability to make up the difference.
If you are thinking I know that name, you probably saw her help introduce the 21.2 workout for the CrossFit Open. She set an impressive time of 10:37. She also announced her presence to the Hyrox world by coming 2nd in the 2021 Hyrox VCF and was pushing Lauren Weeks at every moment. This woman can squat 285, and she ran the 3200 meters in under 12 minutes. She has all the physical tools needed to be in this competition.
With the ability to run under a 5-minute mile and a 6km under 23 minutes, speed will not be an issue for Rebecca. She has multiple podiums at Spartan Championships, North American Obstacle Course Racing Championships, Obstacle Course Racing World Championships and has been a defender for the Million Dollar Mile television show. She also has a previous Hyrox time of 1:14:07. I don’t see lack of experience being an issue for her either.
Sarah is another great hybrid athlete. She has been a little off the radar since 2018 when she was crushing Tough Mudder X, but that doesn’t mean she has been taking it easy. She made that evident when she showed up with a killer performance at the Hyrox VCF grabbing 3rd and earning her spot in this Hyrox Invitational.
Invited to initial date, out since new April date announced.
FAQ
What if I wasn’t invited but think I can win/podium?
Sign up for the pro wave. Kick some ass, win pro wave prizes. Maybe you get invited to the next one?
For example, former Spartan Pro, David Magida, signed up and told us the following:
I think what people are forgetting is that it doesn’t matter if you’re an elite runner or cross fitter. Because this is neither of those things. This is a very particular event that suits a very particular type of athlete. Just like in track. There are events for sprinters and events for distance runners. And this particular event suits me perfectly. I’m 190 lbs. I love to move weight. Strength doesn’t phase me. I just ran a 53 minute 10 miler. I’m in the best shape of my life right now. and I’m going to shock a lot of people.
Is the $5,000 World Record bounty up for grabs this time?
No.
Can I come and watch without competing.
Yes.
Will they be using TrueForm running machines as we saw in Germany?
No, this will be 1k laps of running between each station.
Video Interview With Hunter
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