Triathlon star Joe Skipper set for HYROX’s biggest event so far in London

British long-distance star Joe Skipper will make his HYROX debut this weekend in London along with more than 10,000 other athletes.

What is HYROX?

HYROX, launched in Germany in 2017 and arguably the fastest-growing fitness sport in the world, combines both running and functional workout stations.

Participants run 1km, followed by one functional workout station and that is repeated eight times.

Skipper posted on Instagram: “Absolutely pumped for @hyroxworld london this weekend! Bit of last minute prep, can’t wait to see what it’s all about. Lets go!”

HYROX London is described as the biggest event so far in the sport’s short history and will take place across two days at the ExCel, with a record-breaking 11,000 athletes competing.

Skipper is in the Pro division in the 21:10 start wave on Saturday night, just after former triathlete Gordon Benson who has switched his focus to HYROX and races at 20:40.

The Pro category features heavier weights for a more challenging experience – and the high-intensity and relatively short distance is very different to Skipper’s usual IRONMAN races of around eight hours.

Welcome back

It’s a welcome return to action for Skipper after a recent health scare and what has been a largely frustrating season, which has seen him drop out of the top 20 in the world rankings.

The undoubted highlight of his campaign was his victory at IRONMAN Lake Placid in July.

And he’s got plenty to look forward next season as he should be one of the athletes best suited to the new – and potentially highly-lucrative – IRONMAN Pro Series.