Hamburg. It will be the biggest event in youth fitness sports Hyrox So far experienced in Germany. So it’s no wonder the man who invented it was excited. “It’s certainly amazing to see what happened to our idea,” says Moritz FursteThe two-time hockey Olympic champion has been working with the Upsolut sports agency to further develop the sport since its world premiere in Hamburg 2017, consisting of eight different power endurance and speed strength exercises, each interrupted by a one kilometer run. .

This Saturday (start at 8.30am, last finish around 11am) 3500 athletes will start in Hall B6 of the Hamburg Exhibition Center for the first time. “Hamburg is still our main event, and we have three times more partners here than in Berlin, for example,” says Fürste. Only London is bigger in the world, with 4,600 people in the British capital last weekend.

Hyrox: Hockey idol Fuerste now has offices in the USA

Moritz Fürstke could trace the growth of his idea numerically. After Hyrox was initially only offered in German-speaking countries, expansion into the USA continued in 2019. In addition to Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and North America, Great Britain, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Greece, and Hong Kong are now involved, and an agreement has been signed with Mexico. “South America and Asia are the biggest future markets for us,” says Furste, who manages the headquarters in Ottensen with 25 employees. There are additional offices in Chicago (eight) and London (six).

Even more important for 38-year-olds are the numbers showing participant satisfaction. 90,000 active and 80,000 spectators are expected to gather for the 2022/23 season, which ends with the World Cup in Manchester on May 26. The finisher rate is 99.02 percent. What makes Fürste particularly happy is the high proportion of women in the competition, at 45 per cent.

Two Hyrox competition days for the first time in Hamburg

To cope with the high demand, a two-day competition will be held in Hamburg for the first time this season. Registration for the second event on April 1, 2023 is open this week at hyrox.com. Then, as on this Saturday, in addition to singles and the very popular doubles – where more than 50 percent of participants share the competition – the four-man relay will also be offered.

For example, this weekend, the Bundesliga teams of rowers and sailors compete against each other. “It underscores that we offer a fun product across all sports,” Furste says.

To have a wider presence, collaborations with partner gyms – currently more than 600 worldwide – need to be expanded. “While we see growth everywhere, we’re still interested in partners that we can collaborate with,” Furste says. There is no objection to adding additional exercises or exchanging existing ones.

No ultra format is planned with a considerable length of different exercises. “It is important to convey that we are a sport where the elements are fixed. We want to position our format as widely and well as possible,” he says. You can see how far they have come on this path this Saturday in Hamburg.

Updated: Sat, 26.11.2022, 07.05 am

The Abendblatt family is growing. The Plus subscription is becoming increasingly popular – and we’re celebrating with a special offer. More