The 2022/2023 season of Hyrox was its biggest and most exciting yet. I don’t think any would argue that both the male and female World Championship Elite 15 races were incredible, whether you were a die hard Hyrox fan or more casual observer. Each and every athlete who competed showed why we love this sport as much as we do.
So, what was the problem?
In the 2022/2023 season there were two ways to qualify for the Elite 15 World Championships. The first was to set one of the fastest 9-12 times of the season at any Hyrox course in the world (I will explain the 9-12 in a moment). The second was to podium at a mid-season Elite 15 race (either the European Championships or American Championships), where you qualified by holding one of the 15 fastest times of the season two weeks before that race. The podium spots for these two Elite 15 Championship races gave automatic qualification to the Elite 15 finals – so up to 6 athletes could land their spots this way. Any remaining spots are then given to the 9-12 athletes with the fastest times globally on any course on any date as described above.
During the season, there were a number of concerns raised by top athletes about this system of qualification to the Elite 15 Championship races. Mostly, this was around there being less chances for American athletes and athletes outside of Europe to qualify, and the suspicion that certain courses leant themselves to much faster times. So, as an example, Hyrox Dave may have beaten Hyrox Chris by over 2 minutes at a race in London, but Hyrox Chris went to a race in Amsterdam a week later and set a much faster time than Hyrox Dave and so qualified to the Elite 15 race when Hyrox Dave‘s London time saw him miss out.
This led to some criticism from Hyrox athletes and even campaigns supporting the likes of Ryan Kent and Rich Ryan when it looked likely they’d be unable to compete in the Hyrox American Championships race – which was filled by athletes which had set fast times in courses across Europe. You then had athletes such as Tom Hogan who had to deal with the mental, physical and financial stress of having to fly to Hong Kong less than 2 weeks before the Elite 15 World Championship race to seek qualification after being bumped last minute. And how about James Kelly who most people agreed deserved to be in the Hyrox Elite 15 race and yet was knocked out of the World Championships until literally minutes before the Elite 15 race when an athlete was forced to withdraw, then ended up placing inside the top 10.
It should be noted that most people agree Hyrox has done a very good job at trying to ensure every course is the same. It’s not negligence or a lack of caring for athletes on their part, it’s just an impossible task when you consider the multitude of factors that can impact how fast an athlete can complete a race – from building layouts/shapes to equipment brands to weather to humidity and so on.
I think the main concern athletes had was that theoretically athletes could qualify to the Elite 15 World Championship race without proving they deserve to be there by beating other top athletes on an equal playing field.
So, what’s Hyrox’s solution?
For the 2023/2024 season, Hyrox has announced the only way to qualify to the World Championships is by placing at a Major Championship or Last Chance Qualifier event. This season, there will be no direct qualification to the World Championships by setting a fast time in a regular season race.
This years HYROX Elite 15 Series will consist of:
- 4 Regional Major Races (HYROX, European, Scandinavian and US)– Qualification to the Majors is earned via time placings in the year 2023, top 3 times at each Major qualify for The HYROX World Championships
- 2 Last Chance Qualifiers – Open Field events at the end of the Major’s season schedule to fill any spots still available for The HYROX World Championships
- The HYROX World Championship – The pinnacle of the HYROX race season
This is a big step forwards for Hyrox, who have always remained quiet when athletes have raised concerns about certain courses being faster or slower. It is clear that Hyrox wanted to create a test that was exactly the same for me in the UK as it is for someone in Italy or Hong Kong or America, so we could compare times to see where we rank against each other. It was a big part of their sales pitch. And, actually, I think at the non-Elite level they are about as close as possible to doing this. Similar to how me and my friends don’t argue our 5000m times based on where we set them, not too many athletes outside of the Elites argue about which course they set their best times on… seconds matter much less to the majority of us than it does to these top performers.
What are the Majors? How will they work?
The Majors are 4 regional events that provide the first opportunities for athletes to qualify for the World Championships. The 4 Majors are the Scandinavian, European, HYROX and US Majors. Each race will host a Male and a Female Elite 15 Event.
Qualification for these Major events occurs via a combination of:
- Auto Qualification via 22/23 Season Elite 15 results – 1st, 2nd, 3rd from the World Championships and 1st place from the North American and European Championships in season 22/23 will be auto-qualified for all Majors.
- Time Qualification – The remaining slots shall be awarded to the fastest recorded times from Jan 1st 2023 – to the end of the 23/24 season, if a prequalified athlete chooses not to accept their invite that slot shall be rolled down to the next fastest qualifying time from a qualifying race starting Jan 1st 2023. Qualifying times must be recorded at least 2 weeks prior to each race.
15 Male and 15 Female athletes will qualify to race at each Major and each Major race shall qualify up to 3 athletes to the World Championship race (1st, 2nd and 3rd in the relevant Major)
If an athlete who has already qualified for the World Championships occupies a qualifying place in a subsequent Major race that qualification shall roll down to the next placing in that Major, qualification shall only roll down to 5th place in any Major.
All Majors hold a total prize purse of $42,000 each ($21,000 Male and $21,000 female), all majors will be Grid Format races and will be live-streamed.
What are the Last Chance Qualifiers?
Once all World Championship qualification slots have been assigned via placings in the Major Championships all remaining World Championship slots will be competed for at open invite regular format races – the Last Chance Qualifiers.
Depending on how many slots have been occupied via Major placings (theoretical maximum of 12 places) the remaining slots will be divided equally between the US and European Last Chance Qualifiers.
Anyone can compete by signing up to the Pro Category division at the appropriate race, but no athlete who has already qualified for the World Championship can compete/register a time in this race.
When will this all take place?
Hyrox have already released a calendar with dates for each of the Major races and Last Chance qualifiers, which will allow athletes to begin planning their season.
New financial incentives and exposure via live-streams
All Majors hold a total prize purse of $42,000 each ($21,000 Male and $21,000 female), all majors will be Grid Format races and will be live-streamed.
What do athletes think?
Hyrox says they have “engaged the community, the athletes, coaches and media in a wide-ranging consultation process to identify lessons learnt from 22/23 and implement a season structure we felt reflected the increased size and importance of the sport. The new season structure massively increases the number of opportunities to engage in an elite season both for athletes to compete and for fans to spectate. It also ensures that every athlete at the World Championship has won their spot via in-person competition with a field of their peers.“
I was keen to speak with athletes to see whether they agreed that this is a positive step forwards by Hyrox. Here’s some thoughts from the 2022/2023’s Elite 15:
Lauren Weeks: “I think that the Hyrox team is really putting a lot of time and effort into making the season as fair and as practical as they can. They have listened to and taken feedback from the athletes more than I have seen from any other company. I don’t think it’s possible to make it fair to everyone as we all live across the globe and the sport is ever expanding […] I don’t think I have any right in telling someone else how to run their business. I think it’s great that they are continuing to find the best way to structure a season, and they are willing to see past mistakes and try to move forward and make it better in the future.”
Tobias Lautwein: “I think it’s a good mix of last season’s performances and the new season. A good performance must now also be achieved at several events. The lucky punch is eliminated.“
James Kelly: The new structure is the new structure and if I want to be apart of their sport, I must play by their rules. The financial incentives sound as if they are going in the right direction in relation to becoming more of a professional sport, which is great! But I don’t get motivation from finance incentives at all. So long story short, Hyrox Sydney can’t come soon enough! That’s all I care about!
Florian Gast: to me its 100% fair as they published it early enough every athletes knows the rules now and can push to personal limits!
Note: Athlete’s thoughts are still coming in and we will update this post as they come back to us 🙂