The Race Brain Drop vol. 7

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July 03, 2025

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3 min read

🎟️ Auto-Qualifiers Are In — But Does It Even Matter?

There’s been plenty of chatter about rule changes, Majors, and Regional Championships for next season. But today, let’s zero in on something more concrete:
The Elite 15 auto-qualification system.

As a refresher, here’s how auto-qualification for next season’s Elite 15 works:

✅ Every Major winner from the 24/25 season (no roll-downs)
✅ Top 3 at World Champs, with a roll-down to 5th place if Major winners occupy those spots

🧠 Who’s Already In?

That means 6 men and 5 women are already auto-qualified for all four Majors next season. They’ve got the luxury of skipping time-chasing and racing just the big shows if they want.

But… does it really matter?
Would they qualify anyway based on time?

📊 Top 2 Time Averages (Last 365 Days)

Men:

Tim Wenisch – 54:12
Hunter McIntyre – 54:46
Dylan Scott – 54:13
Alexander Roncevic – 54:25
James Kelly – 53:56
Jon Wynn – 56:15

Women:

Linda Meier – 59:53
Lauren Weeks – 56:56
Joanna Wietrzyk – 58:03
Lucy Procter – 1:00:56
Sinead Bent – 1:01:18

🧮 The Reality Check

Men: 5 of these guys would rank in the top 6 based on time alone.
Only Jon Wynn sits closer to the bubble — currently in 13th, but still inside the cut line unless times drop dramatically.
Women: Sinead Bent would sit 9th for Hamburg, more than a minute clear of 15th.

💡 So in short — auto-qualifying hasn’t really changed much about who gets in.
The more interesting question may be:

Should last season’s performance carry forward?
Or should each new season start completely fresh?

🌏 What’s On Tap?

While Europe and North America rest up, the APAC region is rolling full steam.

✅ Last weekend:

🇸🇬 Asian Open Championships – Singapore

🔜 This weekend:

🇦🇺 HYROX returns to Sydney for Australia’s first 3-day event

All eyes on the Mixed Doubles pairing of James Kelly & Joanna Wietrzyk —
Can they beat the current world record of 50:58 (held by Roncevic & Alice Shurer)?