Hybrid Highlights – Your Weekly Hyrox Roundup – Houston & Vienna

Ryan Kent sets fastest time of the season

Many people expected Ryan Kent to dominate the North American Hyrox Championships a few weeks ago. And, indeed, in the early part of the race, Kent was flying. However, Michael Sandbach, an athlete incredibly strong at the front-half of the race due to his size and strength that match up well with ERGs and sleds, made Kent work increasingly hard to keep his lead. I would also add that Kent had only raced once since the World Championships and was coming off a Deka season, which is a much shorter sport. In a race Kent was leading, he ended up coming 7th and spoke via Social Media about being angry and disappointed.

Kent’s response in Houston was to set the fastest time of the season to date, and the second fastest time in Hyrox history: an incredible 56:52. After the event, Kent said: “The only way for me to truly get over what happened in Chicago was to put myself right back in the arena. That came with some anxiety though. I remained confident in what I could do, but the thought of history repeating itself was definitely in the back of my mind. But we faced those demons head on and overcame it in a big way.”

Rich Ryan shows up with 21st fastest time of the season

Although Rich Ryan will be targeting the Elite 15, he showed up to Houston and put in a solid time of 1:00:02. A year ago, this time would have comfortably got you inside the Elite 15 he is chasing – today though, the times are tumbling. Again, I would point out that Rich has only had one individual Hyrox race this season and is also coming off a Deka season. There’s another 16 races, 2 in the USA, so he has time to qualify for Manchester’s Elite.

Kent, Ryan & Schadegg continue to elevate each other

I follow these three guys on social media and often see them competing together. It’s clear they are good friends, fierce competitors and thrive when all three of them are able to take to the floor together and push one another.

Camilla Massa just misses out on Elite 15

Camilla’s time was the 19th fastest of the season, putting her just outside of that Elite 15. She’ll fancy her chances at securing an Elite 15 spot before the end of the season though, and is working hard on boosting her strength, which she sees as the weakness holding her back from a possible top 5 time.

Nail biting finish in the Women’s Pro!

In case you missed it, there was just one second between Camilla Massa and Belle MacFarlane. Belle made up significant time on the final run and wall balls, to take it right down to the wire. Worth noting, this was Belle’s debut and she had a really rough time on the sled pull (7 minutes, 24 seconds), so if she can shave some time off there (Camilla was 4 minutes, 23 seconds for comparison), she could easily find herself in that Elite 15.

The Magidas take mixed doubles

Europe has the Hogans (Dena and Tom Hogan) and now America has the Magidas. David Magida, North American Champion, and his wife, Kait Magida, took first place overall in the Mixed Doubles with an impressive time of 01:00:37. Having spoken to David, I know that he loves the idea of competing more often with his wife once he decides to take a step back from individual competition. If he and Kait decide to go down that path, it looks like they’ll be a force to be reckoned with!

Alexander Roncevic retakes ‘fastest Hyrox of the season’ crown

Not even a day had passed before Alexander Roncevic took back the ‘fastest time of the season’ crown from Ryan Kent. Like Kent, there were many backing Roncevic going into the North American Championships. Alexander had dominated the race in Europe and looked every bit capable of taking the title in Chicago and, indeed, Worlds in Manchester. Every race is different though, and Alexander ended up taking (a still impressive) 4th place in Chicago.

Truth be told, Chicago wasn’t all that important of a race for Alex. He could have stayed home. His win in the European Championships has guaranteed him a spot in Manchester’s World Championship’s Elite 15 race. Similarly, there was no real need to race in Vienna. Of course, Alexander is from Austria and so perhaps he just wanted to experience the atmosphere and perform in front of his family/friends. But, he could have gone 6 and a half minutes slower and still won the race with time to spare…

This huge win and his incredible time of 56:13 shows the athlete and competitor Alexander Roncevic is. I can’t wait to see what he does at Worlds!

Mirjam Von Rohr wins AGAIN

Since the European Championships, Mirjam has won both races she has entered in dominant fashion. In fact, like Alex, she won this race by over 6 minutes (Stuttgart was almost 8 minutes!). Mirjam is a station specialist, having the best time on every single station in Vienna. That said, she has recently linked up with one of the best runners in the game (Tim Wenisch of T.M. Training) and they’re working on improving this area of Mirjam’s game too. If Mirjam does improve her running (and, honestly, it’s already very good!), she could well make podium at Worlds.

Anne Stellaard continues impressive step-up to Pro

Anne Stellaard is a World Record Holder in the 35-39 Hyrox Open Division. She has an impressive time of 1 hour, 3 minutes and 8 seconds. More recently, Anne has been taking on Pro Hyrox events and placing secondl, behind only Mirjam, will show her that she’s certainly capable of becoming a contender in the Pros should she wish to make her home there.

Affiliate-Cup style competition to debut at Cologne

In Hyrox, there has never been any rules about what relationship the members of a relay team must have in terms of where they train. In fact, you’ve always been able to compete with anyone, from any gym, from any country across the world. At the FIBO in Cologne, Hyrox is debuting a new FITTEST GYM CHAMPIONSHIP. Gyms from all over the world will compete for a new Fittest Gym title. Gyms can start as teams of 4 men, 4 women or mixed (2 men, 2 women).  There will be no age division in this competition. No qualification is required – it’s an OPEN competition for everyone. Significant prizes are up for grabs, including free Hyrox Affiliation and up to 500 Euros of equipment too! More here.

Ten Thousand sign America’s top Hyrox Males

Ten Thousand, a clothing company that is well known for its athlete-led designs, have signed some of Hyrox’s biggest names, including: David Magida, Dylan Scott, Rich Ryan, and Ryan Kent. It’s great to see some of our most successful athletes getting contracts with successful brands. Ten Thousand could well become Hyrox’s NoBull!