Hyrox set for Hong Kong debut at Fitness and Health Expo, organisers look to Singapore and Japan for Asia expansion
- Launched just four years ago, Hyrox will make its Asia debut in November, with two more events planned in 2023
- Director Richard Cowley hopes the event will be another ‘feather in the cap’ for Hong Kong’s fitness industry
Next month a new style of fitness race that incorporates running, jumping, sledge pushing, burpees and throwing medicine balls against a wall makes its debut in Hong Kong, and organisers have set their sights on expanding the brand right across Asia.
Hyrox pitches itself as a “race for every body”, catering to all levels of fitness and experience. A typical race is broken down into eight functional workouts “zones” with a 1km run between each of the eight zones. There’s no time limit and participants can compete individually or in teams.
The format has proved to be something of a hit elsewhere in the world. First launched in Germany in 2018, it has gone on to host more than 50,000 competitors in London, Madrid, New York and Amsterdam.
Hong Kong will be the first city in Asia to host a Hyrox event as part of the Fitness and Health Expo, which runs from November 18 to 20.
Richard Cowley, director of Hyrox in Hong Kong, hopes the event will be a “feather in the cap” for the city’s sports industry as it recovers from almost three years of Covid-19 disruptions.
“We’re super excited to launch it here, I think it’s going to be great for Hong Kong,” Cowley said.
“Our plan is to do the very first race in Asia in Hong Kong. Next year we’ll do two races in Hong Kong and we’ve booked the National Stadium in Singapore. Then we’re going to take it to Japan, Korea, China … all across Asia in the next few years.”
Cowley said the concept of Hyrox was built on the core pillars of running, throwing, jumping and pushing – not dissimilar to something you would do as a child. This, he said, was the reason the event had a completion rate of 99.2 per cent.
“It’s not as technical as CrossFit where you have to do handstands or parallel bars,” he said. “Anyone can do it. Obviously there’s a lot of similarities to CrossFit and there is that comparison, but it is a brand new sport that we’re trying to build.
“It’s massive in the UK and the races in New York sell out every single time – so this is just the start for us in Asia.”
The launch of the event in Hong Kong is part of a wave of momentum for the local sports industry, which returned with record crowds for the Hong Kong Masters. Next month the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Rugby Sevens returns after a three-year hiatus.
“Hong Kong has a great sports scene, it’s a small city, but we pack a punch. I think this will be another feather in the cap of Hong Kong,” Cowley said.
The event in Hong Kong will be the first time it has been held across two days and Cowley said there would be a festival atmosphere, with live music and DJs.
