🏁 The Road to Chicago Heats Up

The HYROX community is getting antsy as we close in on the World Championships in Chicago. This week, we’re diving into a few controversies and hot topics that stirred things up. Let’s start with… Berlin 👀

📉 Berlin Course Drama

Heading into Berlin, many athletes were chasing a PR. Why?

  • One-lap course
  • Cooler temps
  • Less crowded track

It sounded like the perfect setup.

But here at Race Brain, we deal in facts, not feelings. So we brought in the stat master, Jack Bauer, to break it down.

👉 Read his article "Berlin is too Fast" here

Key takeaways:

  • 8% of all Men’s Sub-60 and Women’s Sub-65 times came from Berlin
  • Top 50 Men ran 2:22 faster than their previous PR
  • Top 50 Women ran 2:16 faster
  • Outside of Majors, 29 of the fastest 100 Men’s times ever happened in Berlin

What does this mean?
It could mean a lot — these athletes may have received a qualifying advantage.
Or… it could mean nothing — especially if the system changes next year. Either way, we’ll see most of them line up again in Chicago. Let the results speak.

🇦🇺 Team PRVN… or Team Australia?

Australia is on fire right now in HYROX.
They’ve packed out events and qualified 5 athletes for the Elite 15:

  • James Kelly
  • Jon Wynn
  • Tom Rodgers
  • Joanna Wietrzyk
  • Jess Pettrow

But with success comes controversy…

As team captain, Joanna Wietrzyk had the final say on Team Australia for the relay. And in a surprise move, proven competitors Jon Wynn and Tom Rodgers were left off — despite their stellar resumes.

Instead, the final spot went to James Newbury, a former CrossFit Games athlete with a HYROX PR of 64:36. Compare that to:

  • Rodgers: 56:05
  • Wynn: 56:40 + multiple Worlds appearances

Oh, and all four selected athletes — Joanna, Jess, James Kelly, and Newbury — are part of the PRVN training crew. Just sayin’.
We’re not here to speculate… but you can draw your own conclusions.

🎯 Wall Ball Zones: Not All Targets Are Equal

HYROX’s digital wall ball targets have been a big upgrade — when they work. But recently, UK HXR highlighted something most didn’t know:

There are two different target zones depending on the athlete category:

  • “Age Group” = larger zone
  • “Elite” = smaller zone

This means Elite 15 athletes have to hit a tighter target for a rep to count.
HYROX says this standard only applies to:

  • Elite 15 races
  • Events that qualify directly into the Elite 15

Still, it begs the question:

🧐 Is it wise to have two standards when every race could impact Elite qualification through the current “best two times” system?

Something to keep your eye on.

🎥 Women’s Elite 15 Deep Dive

As the hype builds toward Chicago, the Race Brain crew is dropping deep dives into each competitive field.

This week: the Women’s Elite 15 Preview
🎙️ Hosted by Matt, Michelle, and Rich

📬 Stay Tuned — More to Come

We’re just getting warmed up. Over the next couple weeks, expect more analysis, more deep dives, and more stories heading into Worlds in Chicago.

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