The Elite 15 races will be livestreamed on the HYROX World Youtube Channel
Intro to Glasgow
HYROX heads into the fourth and final major of the season this week with the Scottish Event Campus the venue for the final regular season opportunity to secure World Championship qualification. With a huge increase in participation this year and over 600,000 athletes expected to compete, the competition at the elite end of the sport has intensified.
With the qualification system tweaked this year, securing a spot at a Major race has become a challenging feat requiring athletes to record 2 times in the previous 12 months that generate an average time. The cut-off for female average finish times in the Elite 15 is currently 1.02:41 and in the male category is 56.49, both of these times in recent past seasons have been WR level times and demonstrate the rapid increase in the standards of the sport.
Las Vegas Major Recap:
At the last Major in Las Vegas, Lauren Weeks (01:00:13) defended home turf with a dominant victory in the Women’s Elite 15. Whilst the race’s biggest surprise came from 21-year-old Lucy Procter (01:03:56), who secured her World Championship qualification in an impressive Elite 15 debut.
The Men’s Elite 15 race saw a fierce showdown between Dylan Scott (56:15) and Hunter McIntyre (57.09) with Scott issuing a defiant statement after crossing the finish line. The two battled neck and neck until the final wall balls, where Scott pulled ahead to take the win in 56 minutes and 14 seconds, finishing 23 seconds ahead of McIntyre. New Zealand’s Beau Wills (57:09) claimed the third podium spot, earning his World Championship ticket alongside Scott and McIntyre.
Male Race:
Hunter McIntyre
Ryan Kent
Michael Sandbach
James Kelly
Pelayo Menendez Fernandez
Rich Ryan
Jannik Czapla
Tim Wenisch
Sean Noble
Beau Wills
Jonathon Wynn
Afan Humphries
Jake Dearden
Graham Halliday
Tomase Tvrdik
The Male Race will see some of the sport’s biggest names take to the field in their final regular season hit out, the field is split between those with their World Championship slots secured and those still looking to qualify. McIntyre comes into the race looking strong off his 2nd place finish in Las Vegas and traditionally has peaked heading into WC events, with the memories of last year’s poor finish in his mind, expect to see another focused effort.
Other qualified athletes include Kelly, Pelayo, Wenisch and Wills who will be looking to test themselves whilst managing their condition as they head into the business end of the season. Homegrown hero Graham Halliday will be racing in front of a raucous home crowd - he’s qualified already but the stoic Scotsman will have a point to prove, watch for his chance to define his season heading into the WC.
Seeking to secure his WC slot, Kent comes into the race with high expectations, a feature of the HYROX elite circuit for many seasons, on his day he can compete with the best and has fought some historic titanic battles with McIntyre. Representation from the UK continues with Sandbach and Dearden both entering the fray, Sandbach impressed in last year’s World Championship but hasn’t hit the same form this season. Dearden, widely seen as a future star of the sport, came narrowly close to qualifying in Las Vegas and will be hoping to repeat that feat, with a sizeable British contingent behind him, support will be high.
Female Race:
Lauren Weeks
Vivian Tafuto
Viola Oberländer
Linda Meier
Joanna Wietrzyk
Kate Davey
Seka Arning
Lucy Procter
Zara Piergianni
Jana Lebenstedt
Camilla Massa
Jessica Pettrow
Jade Skillen
Maria Fecik
Tanja Stroschneider
In the female line up only 4 athletes have already qualified for the World Championships, Lauren Weeks comes to the race heavily favoured having laid down her claim in Las Vegas. Weeks is one of the sport’s most consistent competitors and has been going back and forth with Megan Jacoby all season, Jacoby has opted not to travel to focus on training for the worlds.
As the sport of HYROX continues to mature, we are seeing different approaches to season management with some athletes opting to delay the start of their elite season, focusing on later races and others looking to secure WC qualification early to manage their intense training for Worlds.
Wietrzyyk , Davey and Proctor are the other qualified athletes, and all will be looking to sharpen their approach for June in this race. Proctor, a UK athlete, will look to reinforce her credentials having qualified in Las Vegas, both Proctor and Davey can expect strong support from local fans.
In the wider field there will be fierce competition for the remaining slots, Linda Meier, Viola Oberlander and Vivan Tafuto are all veterans of the sport and have enjoyed automatic qualification for all majors this year following their placings at WC last season. Expect a three-way battle between the three for the remaining slots along with competition from German athlete Seka Arning, who qualifies with an average finish time of 01:01:35 and places her in an elite group of sub 1:02 athletes.
Viewers from across the world can tune into the livestream for both Elite 15 races on the HYROX World Youtube Channel,