World Triathlon partnership with Hyrox draws athlete concern over Olympic future of triathlon

Max Stapley said he discovered last week on Instagram that World Triathlon had announced a partnership making Hyrox a recognised discipline within World Triathlon, a move he and other athletes only learned about via social media. The agreement places Hyrox under a recognised international federation and, World Triathlon says, could make the fitness format eligible for inclusion at the Olympics and Paralympics, although it is too late for the Los Angeles 2028 Games.

Hyrox, founded in 2017, combines running with exercise stations and has seen rapid growth: a total of 1.5m athletes took part during the 2025/26 season, up from 650,000 the year before, with participation projected to surpass 2m in the current season. BBC Sport was told that 'Fitness Racing' was added as a discipline in the World Triathlon Constitution in October 2025 with support from the majority of the governing body's National Federations. World Triathlon has framed the partnership as an opportunity to engage athletes and audiences and to grow triathlon and multisport from grassroots to elite levels.

Stapley, who spoke to BBC Sport from a training camp in Thailand, said he was having dinner with friends when his phone started pinging and he first saw the news. "Our biggest concern is that they're not just here to take part, they're here to take over," he said. "I was like, hold on a minute, what's this?" and added: "We don't even get an early notification, we found out on Instagram." He accused World Triathlon of not contacting athletes about the proposal: "They have no respect for us," he said. "They don't even contact us like 'hey, do you guys actually care about this, or what do you think?'"

Sophie Evans, who won gold as part of the Commonwealth Games mixed relay team in Birmingham in 2022, said she was "surprised" to receive the news in that way and added: "I'm not actually against it being part of World Triathlon. It's more the fact we were blindsided, it's just like it's here." European champion Roksana Slupek of Poland said she was "not against the idea" but wanted more detail: "What's the benefit for us, for triathlon? It's nothing against Hyrox," she said. Evans also described a new "level of uncertainty" following the announcement and said: "A lot of the resistance has come from athletes, because you don't know."

Stapley expressed concern about commercial consequences and the direction of resources, listing what he sees as differences between the sports and the impact on visibility. "Sponsorships have reduced because there's no visibility on TV, you have to pay to watch us. We are triathletes that do the short distance, which is the Olympic distance, and we've trained all our lives for it. There's no swimming, there's no biking, it's indoors. [Hyrox] has got nothing to do [with triathlon]," he said. He added: "It seems like our sport's gone, 'no worries, come along, use our structure, use our access to the International Olympic Committee, and perhaps take our space'." Stapley also questioned future Olympic opportunities for triathletes: "We've got an opportunity to win medals in Los Angeles [at the 2028 Olympics], but will we have it further down the track?"

A World Triathlon spokesperson told BBC Sport that "The World Triathlon Executive Board approved the partnership. The board includes representatives of the World Triathlon Athletes' Committee elected by their peers. Athlete representatives are involved in every executive board discussion, and their voice is always heard. The announcement was communicated through the same procedures followed for all World Triathlon releases." The governing body said the partnership is intended to "benefit the entire World Triathlon movement" and provide new opportunities to engage athletes and audiences. World Triathlon added it is continuing to "increase its focus and involvement in the Olympic and Paralympic families" and that it is in the "planning phase" for Brisbane 2032, adding that "triathlon is, and will remain, at the heart of everything we do."

Sam Dickinson, who won an Olympic triathlon bronze in Paris as part of Team GB's relay quartet, described the move as sensible from a participation perspective but said details remain lacking: "It's trying to get people active not from an elite side but from a participation side," he told BBC Sport. "So in that sense it does make sense that as a multi-sport it comes under the World Triathlon umbrella. But it's early days, we don't have any of the bread and butter of exactly what's going on." BBC Sport approached Hyrox for comment but was referred to the statements made by World Triathlon.

British Triathlon said it recognises "World Triathlon's work to grow, develop and strengthen the sport of triathlon, multi-sport and its community" but is waiting to hear the "full operational, governance and commercial framework" for the partnership, a detail athletes have called for as the governing body progresses with the new discipline under its constitution.