HYROX has announced the season structure and qualification process for it’s Elite 15 Series in the 23/24 season. The Elite 15 series is the professional racing division in the sport of HYROX. The best 15 athletes during any season compete in different Elite 15 race formats, which, in the 23/24 season, now includes Majors, Last Chance Qualifiers, and The HYROX World Championships, for titles, prize money and the opportunity to earn the World Champion title.
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 or previous performances in a championship event. Top 3 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 fulfil any spots still available for The HYROX World Championships
- The HYROX World Championship – The pinnacle of the HYROX race season
The only route of qualification to the World Championships is via placing at a Major Championship or Last Chance Qualifier events. There is no direct qualification to the World Championships via time in a regular season race.
What are the Majors?
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 to these Major events occurs via a combination of auto qualification through:
- 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 prequalfied athlete choses 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.
Each Major 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 livestreamed.
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.
Who Are the Automatic Qualifiers?
The athletes who have auto qualified for all Majors in the 23/24 season, due to their performances in the 22/23 season are:
Men
World Champion – Hunter McIntyre
2nd at World Championships – Alexander Roncevic
3rd at World Championships – Tobias Lautwein
European Champion – Alexander Roncevic
US Champion – David Magida
4th at World Championships – Ryan Kent
Women
World Champion – Lauren Weeks
2nd at World Championships – Megan Jacoby
3rd at World Championships – Belle McFarlane
European Champion – Lauren Weeks
US Champion – Mikaela Norman
4th at World Championships – Vivian Tafuto
Race Venues / Dates
HYROX 2023/2024 Major Races
HYROX Major November 11th 2023, Chicago, USA.
Scandinavian Major December 2nd 2023, Stockholm, Sweden.
European Major February 10th 2024, Vienna, Austria
US Major March 2nd 2024, Washington D.C., USA
HYROX 2023/2024 LCQ Races
April 13th 2024 FIBO. Cologne, Germany
May 19th 2024 Anaheim
HYROX 2023/ Cut Off Races
October 28th 2023 Dublin/Valencia for HYROX Major
November 18th 2023 Dallas/Hamburg for Scandinavian Major
February 17th 2024 Incheon for US Major
HYROX World Championships
June 7th 2024 (more details here)
The change in Elite15 race format comes as HYROX looks to increase pro racing opportunities and generally enhance the depth and quality of the season as a whole. There will also be larger prize purse opportunities for professional athletes, as well as further exposure with live streams at each of the majors.
Moritz Fürste, HYROX Co-Founder, commented: “We 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 got to discuss these changes in more depth with Moritz on the day of the announcement. You can watch that discussion in the video below, or on the Rox Lyfe podcast…
