Why Hyrox Should Drop Its Olympic Ambitions

Few things confer as much legitimacy on a sport than inclusion in the Olympic Games. It’s an important goal for Hyrox, a fast-growing indoor fitness competition targeting a potential market of 240 million global gym junkies. But it would be wise to ditch such a lofty ambition and focus on commercial efforts to ensure a lasting legacy.

A three-day race that ended in Hong Kong over the weekend with 20,000 competitors was the biggest in Asia and doubled last year’s entries. It shows that Hyrox could be more than a passing fad. Introduced in Germany nine years ago, the first event in Hamburg had just 650 athletes. Participants complete eight rounds of a one-kilometer (0.6 mile) run, each followed by a functional workout station. When the current season ends next month, 1.5 million people on five continents will have taken part.