Former IRONMAN World Champion latest triathlon star to make Hyrox debut

Sebastian Kienle will become the latest long course triathlete to take on Hyrox, with the 2014 IRONMAN World Champion heading to England to compete in the Hyrox Manchester World Series Event this weekend.

Last year, multiple time Ironman champion Joe Skipper made his Hyrox debut in London, calling it “the best sport I’ve ever taken part in” after entering the event during his off season.

For recently retired Kienle, the “global fitness race for every body” looks to be the perfect opportunity to test out his functional strength and endurance against a highly competitive field.

“I’ve never been healthier in the past ten years”

Sharing the story behind his decision to race Hyrox, Kienle joked about a continuation of his professional career, the last year of which was well documented as part of his “Discontinued Tour” in 2023.

“It sounds crazy, but it’s race week! No worries, there is no comeback or a “DISCONTINUED: THE FINAL CHAPTER’. But I retired from triathlon, not from sports. So I will test myself at the Hyrox World Series Manchester this weekend.

“Here is the long story: I knew Hyrox, but I mixed it up with cross-fit. Because of the trouble I had in the past with my achilles and the amount of racing I planed for 2023, I thought I would most likely be not able to run for quite some time.

“Turns out I‘ve been wrong (twice). Hyrox is for everybody and I‘ve never been healthier in the last 10 years (don’t mix that up with racing-fitness).”

Having finished second at the punishing Norseman Xtreme Triathlon last year, which is known for being one of the toughest full distance races in the world, Kienle will now turn his attention to the fast and furious world of Hyrox fitness racing.

“I started training and boom I was hooked!”

Having been inspired to give the event a go by his cameraman during the build up to IRONMAN Cozumel, Kienle says he initially planned on doing the training as a way to aid his gravel bike racing, but quickly found himself hooked.

“So @byrenedomke (my video guy) was training for Hyrox Frankfurt during our Cozumel trip and I was like ‘yeah this might be a good way to get some of that punchiness back I will need for the Gravel season’.

“I started training and – boom I was hooked. I really enjoyed mixing some time in the WOD box in my camp at Playitas Resort and I‘m pretty excited to test myself a couple of times in the first half of the year. Let’s see how far 15,000 hours of cardio can get you in this sport .”