The Grand Palais provided a breathtaking setting for fencing and taekwondo during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. For five days, it has now hosted Hyrox, an increasingly popular fitness competition… which may itself become an Olympic event in the medium term. That, at least, is the stated ambition of its promoters, with Brisbane 2032 firmly in their sights.
Maxime Villalongue, the director of Hyrox France, didn't hold back on the M6 channel. This sport was founded by an Olympic athlete, and the ambition from the beginning was to make it an Olympic sport., he recalls, referring to Moritz Furste, two-time Olympic field hockey champion, who created the concept with Christian Toetzke in 2017. The initial ambition was to create a sport that would eventually be Olympic. "The IOC has proven its interest in new trends and its openness by giving the green light to breaking, which broke the mold and sparked considerable debate at Paris 2024. But can Hyrox meet the Olympic criteria?"
🏋️ Hyrox took over the Grand Palais in Paris this Saturday, where more than 10.000 enthusiasts participated in this demanding competition, a mix of strength and endurance. #AFPTV (I.e. pic.twitter.com/mfe96u03G3
- Agence France-Presse (@afpfr) April 20, 2025
World Triathlon as an ally
Maxime Villalongue is convinced that the association can work. Standards, globalization, standardization, representation on all continents, accessibility—these are the characteristics that will allow us to become an Olympic sport. There are still many things to work out, but the World Triathlon Federation agreed to support us in this more than six months ago. We are going to bring this sport to the Olympic Games. ", he says.
Hyrox boasts over 80 events, 550.000 participants, and 350.000 spectators by 2025. The principle is simple: complete a course combining running and fitness exercises as quickly as possible. A trendy phenomenon, and perhaps more. Hyrox can indeed count on a powerful ally within the Olympic Movement: World Triathlon, which believes in this concept. Last July, Christian Toetzke presented his arguments to the FI Executive Committee, advocating for the integration of Hyrox among the disciplines under World Triathlon's authority. The federation studied the matter and approved this collaboration in October at its congress in Wollongong, Australia.
An overwhelming majority of members then voted in favor of integrating what was designated as Fitness Racing. In a statement, World Triathlon reiterated its commitment to to identify new opportunities for the future, to work with private organizers and to focus on developing a more commercially oriented organization, ready and willing to engage with all stakeholders to drive the growth of triathlon and multisport disciplines worldwide In recent days, a new milestone has been reached, as World Triathlon announced on April 17th that the competition rules for this new discipline, dubbed "Hyathlon," will soon be unveiled. The timing will undoubtedly be tight for Brisbane 2032, whose program will be finalized in the coming months. But the doors may be more open than ever within the framework of the Fit for the Future process.
