Upon announcing the event, Mo Fuerste, HYROX Co-Founder said “We are thrilled to bring the World Championships back to the U.S. and announce Chicago as the host city for the 2024/25 season. Chicago is our U.S. operational base and provides a world-class venue for a competition of this magnitude. We look forward to experiencing the hospitality of one of America’s greatest cities.”
This was the first time the World Championships had been on US soil since Las Vegas in 2022; this decision to return to the US reflects a rapid increase in popularity in the USA with over 80,000 people expected to race in the US during the 24/25 season, and 550,000 athletes globally.
For full details of the previous 2024 HYROX World Championships, held in Nice, France, check out this article.
World Championship Racing
The event featured two major competitions split across the four days:
1. Elite 15 World Championships (Professional Racing)
2. Age Group World Championships
Both competitions required athletes to qualify during the regular HYROX season…
Elite 15 – Individual
HYROX introduced a new season structure and qualification process for its Elite 15 Series in the 2024/2025 season with over $300,000 in prize money available throughout the season.
The Elite 15 series is the professional racing division in the sport, featuring the top 15 female and top 15 male athletes during any season competing in various Elite 15 races. This season’s Elite 15 Series consisted of the following key events:
- 4 Regional Major Races ($60,000 prize purse per event) – Qualification to the Majors earned via time placings or previous performances in a championship event. The top 3 finishers at each Major qualified for the Elite 15 race at the HYROX World Championships. If these athletes had already qualified, the slot rolled down to the next 3 athletes in line, so that at every Major 3 athletes would qualify. The Winner of each Major qualified for all remaining Majors
- 1 Last Chance Qualifier – Open field event at the end of the Major’s season schedule to fulfil the 3 spots still available for the Elite race in Chicago. This LCQ event took place in Barcelona in April 2025.
- The HYROX World Championship – This event is the crown jewel of the season, where the best of the best compete for titles, substantial prize money, and the prestigious title of HYROX World Champion.
To get a better idea of how strong and fast these Elite 15 athletes are, check out this article.
Elite Women
The Elite Women took centre-stage on Thursday night, with Australia’s Joanna Wietrzyk, 3-time World Champion Lauren Weeks (USA) and Germany’s Linda Meier setting the tone early. Joanna led on the early stations but during the sled pull Linda made her move. She came into the station in 3rd place, exiting in 2nd, having made up 27 seconds. She took the lead on the run before the Burpee Broad Jumps and never looked back. Joanna and Lauren kept the pressure on, but Linda looked unshakable – crossing the line in a PB time of 58:56 to claim her first HYROX World Championship title.
Joanna came through in second, capping off an incredible debut HYROX season, while Lauren took third in 59:43 — extending her record of podium finishes at the World Championships.
Behind them, Sinéad Bent (in her Elite 15 debut) and Lucy Procter were locked in a tight race for fourth, with Sinéad edging it in 1:00:22. Emilie Dahmen rounded out the top six in 1:01:11 – also in her Elite 15 debut.
The full results were:
1. Meier, Linda – 00:58:56
2. Wietrzyk, Joanna – 00:59:17
3. Weeks, Lauren – 00:59:43
4. Bent, Sinead – 01:00:22
5. Procter, Lucy – 01:00:54
6. Dahmen, Emilie – 01:01:11
7. Tafuto, Vivian – 01:01:58
8. Bevilacqua, Amy – 01:02:30
9. Pettrow, Jess – 01:02:51
10. Maurer, Melanie – 01:03:22
11. Davey, Kate – 01:03:38
12. Steensgaard, Ida Mathilde – 01:03:58
13. Griffith, Lauren – 01:05:10
14. Arning, Seka – 01:06:26
DNF – Rugloski, Kris
Elite Men
Following the incredible Women’s Race, it was the men’s turn to take to the floor. The field was stacked – including 3-time World Champion Hunter McIntyre and reigning World Champion Alexander Roncevic.
As expected, the men went out fast, with Hunter, James Kelly (JK) and Tim Wenisch leading after the ski. Hunter kept the lead in the early stations, but after the burpee broad jumps Tim edged ahead and never relinquished the lead from thereon. Tim went into the wall balls with a 40 second lead over Hunter and despite breaking numerous times and managed to cross the line first and become World Champion in a time of 00:53:53 – beating Hunter by just 5 seconds!
Dylan Scott rounded off the podium, finishing a minute behind Hunter. He moved himself up into 4th after the sled pull and into 3rd position after the burpees – ultimately with no one competing with him for third place.
There had been plenty of talk before the race of JK being the favourite to win following his amazing performances in all of the Majors this season. However he missed out on the podium but clawed back to take a brilliant 4th place after a disappointing sled pull had left him down in 13th position. Hot on his heels at the wall balls were fellow Australians Jon Wynn and Tom Rodgers (in his Elite 15 debut) – with fantastic 5th and 6th place finishes.
The full results were:
1. Wenisch, Tim – 00:53:53
2. McIntyre, Hunter – 00:53:58
3. Scott, Dylan – 00:54:58
4. Kelly, James – 00:55:27
5. Wynn, Jonathon – 00:55:49
6. Rodgers, Tom – 00:55:54
7. Weersma, Hidde – 00:56:09
8. Roncevic, Alexander – 00:56:21
9. Wills, Beau – 00:56:51
10. Halliday, Graham – 00:57:01
11. Ryan, Rich – 00:57:02
12. Menendez Fernandez, Pelayo – 00:58:42
13. Tvrdik, Tomas – 01:01:39
14. Schadegg, Rylan – 01:01:42
DNF – Dearden, Jake
You can watch the Elite 15 races at the below link:
Here are some photos of the Elite 15 Individual race:
Elite 15 – Doubles
In Chicago, for the first time, the Elite 15 Doubles World Championship took place.
There were 5 events across the season where athletes could qualify for a spot in the Elite 15 Doubles World Championships, with the top 3 in each race qualifying. You can read more about the qualification process in this post.
Important points to note:
- There was no Mixed Doubles Category – qualification is ONLY through the Men’s Pro Doubles or Women’s Pro Doubles at the 5 specified events.
- There was a ‘same partner’ rule – you must race at the World Championships with the partner you qualified with.
- You could only qualify once – it was not possible for an athlete to qualify with one partner and then qualify again at another of the qualification races with a different partner.
The Elite 15 Pro Doubles Qualifiers were:
Women
Nicola-Georgia Macbeth, Gabrielle Nikora-Baker – Melbourne Pro Doubles 1st Place
Meg Martin, Maddison Biggs – Melbourne Pro Doubles 2nd Place
Zoe O’Meara, Taryn Sharp – Melbourne Pro Doubles 3rd Place
Tia-Clair Toomey, Joanna Wietrzyk – Houston Pro Doubles 1st Place
Lauren Weeks, Lauren Griffith – Houston Pro Doubles 2nd Place
Elena Rouco Chas, Morgan Schulz – Houston Pro Doubles 3rd Place
Jess Pettrow, Maria Fecik – Miami Pro Doubles 1st Place
Bridget Brown, Terra Jackson – Miami Pro Doubles 2nd Place
Kris Rugloski, Kayti Simonson – Miami Pro Doubles 3rd Place
Linda Meier, Viola Oberlander – Paris Pro Doubles 1st Place
Seka Arning, Rebecca Frank – Paris Pro Doubles 2nd Place
Margot Vandenlindenloof, Charlotte Vandenlindenloof – Paris Pro Doubles 3rd Place
Lucy Procter, Sinéad Bent – London Pro Doubles 1st Place
Megan Jacoby, Camilla Massa – London Pro Doubles 2nd Place
Kate Davey & Zara Piergianni – London Pro Doubles 4th Place (roll down)
Men
Chris Woolley, Tom Rodgers – Melbourne Pro Doubles 1st Place
Tanguy Cruz, Daniel Payne – Melbourne Pro Doubles 2nd Place
Pieter Maes, Tom Franssens – Melbourne Pro Doubles 3rd Place
James Kelly, Jake Dearden – Houston Pro Doubles 1st Place
Marcus Wallace, Dawson Miller – Houston Pro Doubles 2nd Place
Jeremy McConnell, Dylan Scott – Houston Pro Doubles 3rd Place
Rich Ryan, Pelayo Menendez-Fernendez – Miami Pro Doubles 1st Place
Rylan Schadegg , Ryan Kent – Miami Pro Doubles 2nd Place
Ben Sutherland, Harry Sutherland – Miami Pro Doubles 3rd Place
Roberto Viciedo Gimeno, Luis Garcia Rubio – Paris Pro Doubles 1st Place
Beau Wills, Eugenio Bianchi – Paris Pro Doubles 2nd Place
Jannik Czapla, Tim Wenisch – Paris Pro Doubles 3rd Place
Charlie Botterill & Ollie Russell – London Pro Doubles 1st Place
Jake Williamson & Alen Ploj – London Pro Doubles 2nd Place
Hidde Weersma & Thierry Willigenburg – London Pro Doubles 3rd Place
Elite Doubles – Women
Saturday night showcased the inaugural Elite Doubles races, with the women up first. World record holders Joanna Wietrzyk and 7-time CrossFit Games champion Tia Toomey had to withdraw shortly before the race. But the field was incredibly stacked and led to some fantastic racing.
British pairing Sinead Bent and Lucy Procter took the lead on the sled push and did not relinquish it, crossing the line in first place. However they picked up a 15 second penalty for dropping the sandbag, and a 10 second penalty on the row, which pushed them down into second place with a time of 00:55:07.
The winning pair was, therefore, Lauren Griffith and 3-time World Champion Lauren Weeks with a time of 00:54:58.
Third place was current World Champion Linda Meier and Viola Oberlander who finished in 00:55:47
1. Lauren Griffith and Lauren Weeks – 00:54:58
2. Lucy Procter and Sinead Bent – 00:55:07
3. Linda Meier and Viola Oberlander – 00:55:47
Elite Doubles – Men
After the amazing Women’s race, it was the Men’s turn – with yet another hugely talented line up. World Record holders Rich Ryan and Pelayo Menendez-Fernendez were probably favourites going into the race, but in reality the field was so close that anyone could be on the podium – making for an exciting race!
German pairing Tim Wenisch and Jannik Czapla (who’d qualified for the race by finishing 3rd in Paris) led from the start and had a fierce battle throughout with Americans Ryan Kent and Rylan Schadegg. Tim and Jannik were handed two red cards on the burpees, leading to a 30 second time penalty, but managed to get themselves a big enough lead to still take the win.
Roberto Viciedo Gimeno and Luis Garcia Rubio came into the wall balls in third, but managed to overtake Ryan and Rylan to take second place.
Rich and Pelayo pulled out of the race on the ski due to an ongoing injury for Pelayo.
1. Tim Wenisch and Jannik Czapla – 00:50:24
2. Roberto Viciedo Gimeno and Luis Garcia Rubio – 00:50:30
3. Rylan Schadegg and Ryan Kent – 00:50:56
You can watch the Elite 15 Doubles at the below link:
Elite Mixed Relay Championships
The 2024 World Championship event saw the first ever Mixed Relay World Championships (invitational) on the Sunday evening. 20 mixed relay teams (each representing a different country) battled it out in what was a great race (with England taking the title)! Each country had a team captain (selected by HYROX) and it was the responsibility of the captain to choose their team.
Fans were pleased to know the race would feature again at the 2025 World Championships – and once again, HYROX chose an Elite athlete as captain for each country, and those captains were tasked with selecting their team. You can read the relay announcement here.
The relay on Saturday night unfolded as a fast‑paced showdown of strategy and endurance. The USA squad – featuring Lauren Weeks (on sled pull and wall balls), Dylan Scott (burpees and lunges), Hunter McIntyre (ergs) and Vivian Tafuto (sled push and farmer’s carry) – delivered an impressive 00:49:47 finish to claim provisional gold. However there was controversy as Hunter pushed Irish athlete Jeremy McConnell into a barrier on the first run. HYROX reviewed the footage and spoke to the athletes – determining that team USA should be disqualified.
The Australia team including elite competitors James Newbury, James Kelly, Jess Pettrow, and Joanna Wietrzyk clocked in at 00:50:11 to take 2nd on the night. The English and Belgian quartets crossed the line just after, at 50:15, rounding off the podium. A subsequent review by HYROX could not separate the teams, so both were awarded joint second place.
1. Australia – 00:50:11
2. England and Belgium – 00:50:15
The full post-race statement from HYROX is as follows:
Following the conclusion of the Relay Invitational, the HYROX Race Officials received one challenge and launched a separate internal investigation into a race result.
1. Hunter McIntyre & Jeremy McConnell
A challenge was lodged related to a racing incident between Hunter McIntyre and Jeremy McConnell. Upon reviewing the race footage from multiple different angles, it was determined that McIntyre altered his racing line with the intention of creating contact with McConnell, which led to a significant collision and potential endangerment of an athlete. The HYROX Race Officials consulted with both team captains and the individuals involved in the incident in determining the outcome of the challenge.
This action was deemed unsportsmanlike conduct and will result in the disqualification of McIntyre and therefore, team USA.
Australia are named winners of the 2025 Relay Invitational and subsequent roll downs are enforced
2. England and Belgium
An internal investigation was launched from HYROX race officials into the final finishing position of the England and Belgium teams.
Upon a detailed review of the finish line footage and in consultation with both team captains HYROX Race Officials determined that the final position could not be materially differentiated between England and Belgium.
Due to the parallel disqualification of Team USA, and subsequent roll-down of finishing places, Belgium and England finish joint 2nd.
The HYROX sports team continues to uphold the sanctity of the race environment as its primary concern, all decisions are final.
Mat Lock Technical Director Elite Racing
“We’ve had an incredible set of elite races with fast racing on all fronts, our job as a sports team is to review the facts and make judgements based on the rules, we place absolute primacy on the sanctity of the race environment and make every decision based on that guiding principle”
The 20 teams were as follows:
Australia
Belgium*
Canada
China Mainland
England
France
Germany
Ireland
Italy
Mexico
Morocco *
Netherlands
New Zealand
Scotland
South Africa
South Korea *
Spain
Sweden
United Arab Emirates *
United States of America
* = WILDCARD
You can watch the Elite Relay at the below link:
Prize Money
HYROX announced the following prize money for the 2025 World Championships:
Elite 15 Singles
1st $30,000
2nd $20,000
3rd $12,000
4th $7,000
5th $6,000
Elite 15 Doubles
1st $12,000
2nd $10,000
3rd $5,000
4th $3,000
5th $1,000
Elite Relay
1st $16,000
2nd $10,000
3rd $8,000
4th $5,000
5th $2,000
Age Group Athletes
At each regular HYROX event, there are World Championship qualifying spaces available for the fastest athletes in each division, by age group. Qualifying for the World Championships was harder than ever with just 1% of athletes gaining a space (and Pro division being prioritised more than in previous years).
There were limits by location; just because one event is twice as large as another, that does not mean there will be double the number of qualifying spots. Therefore, larger events may see less than 1% of athletes qualifying.
For further details on how to qualify for the HYROX World Championships in the age group divisions (i.e. the non Elite race) then check out this article.
Here are some photos of the age groups races from across the weekend:
World Records
Congratulations to the following athletes for achieving age group World Records:
Women’s Open 65-69 – Avril McClement – 01:24:18
Women’s Pro 55-59 – Anna Buxo – 01:15:18
Women’s Pro Doubles 30-39 – Mollie Emond and Meg Martin – 00:54:37
Men’s Open 75-79 – David Ridout – 01:47:34
Men’s Open Doubles 60-69 – Norman Chu and Sean Wade – 01:03:41
World Championships History
Previous HYROX World Championships have been held at the following locations:
2019: Oberhausen, Germany
2021: Leipzig, Germany
2022: Las Vegas, USA
2023: Manchester, UK
2024: Nice, France
HYROX announced that from the 2025/26 season onwards, qualification for the World Championship is through the PRO division only (with 2 exceptions) – read more about the changes here.
All athletes competing in Chicago received a free HYROX special edition Helio Strap from Amazfit. Click here to read more about that.
The 2026 HYROX World Championships will take place in Stockholm – more details here.
