Hyrox and World Triathlon form partnership to pursue Olympic and Paralympic inclusion

Hyrox and World Triathlon announced a partnership on 28 October 2026 that recognises 'hybrid racing' as a discipline within World Triathlon and advances Hyrox's bid for inclusion at the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the organisations said. Hyrox holds more than 100 events worldwide each year.

Hyrox began in 2017 as an indoor competition combining running with fitness stations and now stages world championships annually, featuring both singles and doubles races. The standard Hyrox format comprises eight legs of a one-kilometre run followed by a fitness exercise, with the exercises listed as 1km on a standing ski machine, 50m sled push, 50m sled pull, 80m burpee jumps, 1km row, 200m kettlebell carry, 100m lunges carrying a sandbag, and 100 throws and catches of a medicine ball against a wall.

Under the new agreement, 'hybrid racing' will be contested across three formats - 'ultimate', 'fast' and 'ultra' - each sanctioned and governed by World Triathlon. Hyrox will continue to oversee world, continental and national championships for elite athletes in the 'ultimate' format, which mirrors its existing format, while the additional formats included under the new discipline of hybrid racing - 'fast' and 'ultra' - offer high intensity and extended adaptations.

World Triathlon and Hyrox said in a statement that obtaining Olympic and Paralympic status for the discipline was the "ultimate ambition". World Triathlon president Antonio Arimany said hybrid racing was "a natural evolution for our movement" and added: "This partnership will not only accelerate the growth of World Triathlon on the global stage, it will open genuine new opportunities for every one of our national federations to grow participation, engage new audiences, and strengthen our sport at every level. "This is exactly the kind of forward-looking collaboration our members deserve."

Hyrox co-founder Christian Toetzke said: "From the very beginning, our goal was to build a global sport that could earn a place on the world's biggest athletic stage. "Partnering with World Triathlon is a monumental step toward that vision. "Hybrid racing is no longer just a global fitness movement, it is officially on the road to the Olympics."

Reaction from some elite triathletes was critical: Great Britain's Olympic triathlon champion Alex Yee shared a poll with his 227,000 followers in which, after a couple of hours, 82% had voted against the move. Fellow British triathlete Max Stapley commented on the joint announcement on Instagram: "This is crap." Olympic triathlete Roksana Slupek, of Poland, wrote "the two sports have absolutely nothing in common" and questioned what her sport would gain from the partnership.

Only sports governed by recognised international federations that comply with the Olympic Charter, the World Anti-Doping Code and the Olympic Movement Code on the Prevention of the Manipulation of Competition are eligible for inclusion at the Olympic and Paralympic Games — a compliance requirement World Triathlon already meets. World Triathlon and Hyrox have positioned the partnership as a step toward securing Olympic and Paralympic status for hybrid racing.