The final race of the weekend was the HYROX Mixed Relay Invitational. The Teams secured their spots through the global National Performance Index (NPI), with Sweden receiving the automatic bid as the host nation.
Each team had four athletes. Each member of the team completes completes two stations. Team Australia were the 2025 World Champions. The rules were simple. The relay is a completely different style of HYROX race. Fast, tactical and fun, it is also a blast to spectate. You can find the full race below.
Here is the official lineup of the 20 countries battling for the 2026 World Title:
| Seed | Country |
|---|---|
| 1 | 🇦🇺 Australia |
| 2 | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom |
| 3 | 🇺🇸 United States |
| 4 | 🇩🇪 Germany |
| 5 | 🇧🇪 Belgium |
| 6 | 🇨🇦 Canada |
| 7 | 🇪🇸 Spain |
| 8 | 🇮🇪 Ireland |
| 9 | 🇮🇹 Italy |
| 10 | 🇳🇱 Netherlands |
| 11 | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| 12 | 🇫🇷 France |
| 13 | 🇳🇿 New Zealand |
| 14 | 🇲🇽 Mexico |
| 15 | 🇰🇷 South Korea |
| 16 | 🇲🇦 Morocco |
| 17 | 🇨🇳 China |
| 18 | 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates |
| 19 | 🇵🇱 Poland |
| 20 | 🇸🇪 Sweden |
Let’s check out how the action went down.
The Race
Cole Learn sprinted right to the front. He had a point to prove on the ski erg after his earlier disqualification. All the athletes jostled hard for position, using their elbows and bodies to carve out space and rankings. Wenisch ran in his German football shirt, Botterill had his England top on. The atmosphere was fun, and fiercely competitive.
Ski Erg
Roncevic, competing for Team Austria, was also right at the front. McCroary from Team Scotland settled into second behind Learn. Many of the competitors had previously competed in both the Elite 15 Singles and Doubles races over the last few days, so they must have been feeling the fatigue. Learn was first off the ski erg and first to tap in his next team member.
Sled Push
Team Ireland, Canada, Netherlands and Austria and New Zealand led the front of the pack. Nikora-Baker from New Zealand shifted the sled like it was nothing. Sean Noble, commentating not competing, reminded everyone that the sled push is a different beast during the relay because the athletes must sprint so much faster during the run beforehand.
Tip: Keep your feet close to the sled and take short steps to generate maximum force. The closer your feet are to the sled, the more power you will be able to generate.
Team England rose to the top of the pack, followed by Canada, Australia, Germany and New Zealand.
Sled Pull
England were first onto the sled pull. Jess Pettrow and Linda Meier powered through, matching each other pull for pull on the rope. Watching so many different athletes work their way through the station, there was a huge spectrum of alternating techniques being used.
Tip: Find the right rope management technique for you when doing sled pulls. For example, Sean Noble drops the rope so that he can ease up pressure for the forearms. Many other athletes maintain a strong grip at all times. Experiment in training and find out what works best for you.
Aussie athlete James Kelly was motivating Lucy Proctor as he ran past, encouraging her to stay with him, to stay at his pace.
Mirjam Van Rohr was competing for Team Switzerland. In one month she has won the French Throwdown and qualified for the CrossFit Games, set a new WR in the Weightlifting and competed for her country in HYROX. She is known for her incredible Wall Ball skills. She has a personal record of 350 unbroken wall balls.
Burpee Broad Jumps
Lucy Proctor looked unstoppable on the burpees, helping to keep Team England in the top three behind New Zealand and Australia. Cole Learn made a move on the burpees, chasing James Kelly.
Tip: Double feet bounce, single leg step up or knee to step up. There are many ways to complete the burpees so take the time to try them all. Use them like tools in your toolkit that you can adopt depending on your fatigue level.
Row
When Alyssa McElheny was on the rower during the Elite 15 Singles race, she was actually singing along to the music in the venue. A few of the Relay athletes were doing the same. The athletes were setting explosive paces compared to the usual times in the Singles Races.
Fun Fact: Canada has the current female record holder for the beer mile world record.
Farmers Carry
Germany were leading the race at this point, however Sheridan demolished the farmers carry in a time of 01:04. She completed the station in 1:20 to secure the fastest time during the Elite Singles race.
Tip: Use your lats and back more than your biceps, which are a comparatively weak muscle group, to maximize your results on this station. Keep your shoulders back and down if possible.
Sandbag Lunges
James Kelly led as he entered the sandbag lunges, a station that he is reknowned for being good at. Germany and England followed closely behind. Harry Thompson and Jannik both looked strong as they powered through the work.
Team South Africa received a red card.
Wall Balls
Linda Meier and Jess Pettrow were once again head and head as they ran out for their next lap. Pettrow started to pull away. Her background is in track and field so she loves these explosive distances. And it showed. She was first onto the wall balls and worked precisely and methodically.
The fight for the medals came down to Pettrow, Meier and Proctor for Team Australia, Germany and England. They entered in that order. They finished in that order.
Final Leaderboard
| Rank | Country | Athletes | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australia | James Kelly, Jonathon Wynn, Jess Pettrow, Calypso Sheridan | 50:19 |
| 2 | Germany | Tim Wenisch, Jannik Czapla, Linda Meier, Stefanie Oswald | 50:30 |
| 3 | England | Charlie Botterill, Harry Thompson, Lucy Procter, Jess Towl | 50:36 |
| 4 | United States | Lauren Weeks, Dylan Scott, Jack Driscoll, Katherine Fahsbender | 52:00 |
| 5 | Belgium | Lena Putters, Louis Osselaer, Kwinten Verstuyft, Margot Vandenlindenloof | 52:13 |
| 6 | Canada | Cole Learn, Isaac Sanderson, Lindsay Bessegato, Lianne Girard | 52:23 |
| 7 | Sweden | Charlotte Haglund, Hugo Hugemark, Kenny Steger, Annie Emilsson | 52:53 |
| 8 | Ireland | David Kelly, Ronan Lindsay, Roisin Egan, Aoife O Rourke | 52:59 |
| 9 | Czech Republic | Tomas Tvrdik, Petr Mrázek, Tereza Schejbalová, Veronika Hynkova | 53:05 |
| 10 | Denmark | Sebastian Ifversen, Gustav Cordua, Ida Mathilde Steensgaard, Tascha Møller | 53:09 |
| 11 | New Zealand | Gabrielle Nikora-Baker, Dexter Buchanan, Luke Penny, Jenna Barrett | 53:18 |
| 12 | South Africa | Danél Louw, Wesley Henning, Kyle Schoonbee, Vicky Macintosh | 54:25 |
| 13 | Spain | Manuela García, Aitor Lizarazu Hormilla, Roberto Viciedo Gimeno, Elena Rouco Chas | 54:55 |
| 14 | France | Julien Coquillaud-Salomon, Pierre Algret, Anne Caroline Charpentier, Ambre Keram | 55:00 |
| 15 | Austria | Tanja Stroschneider, Alexander Roncevic, Rene Groinig, Alice Schürer | 55:05 |
| 16 | Scotland | Liam McCroary, Graham Halliday, Eilidh Boyd, Rachel O’Connor | 55:50 |
| 17 | Netherlands | Hidde Weersma, Maarten Enthoven, Emilie Dahmen, Anne Stellaard | 56:07 |
| 18 | Switzerland | Melanie Maurer, Tiziano Pedrocchi, Savo Hertig, Mirjam von Rohr | 56:14 |
| 19 | Italy | Camilla Massa, Eugenio Bianchi, Samuele Abrami, Gloria Corbetta | 56:31 |
| 20 | Mexico | Aldo Lozano Márquez, German Flores, Nayelli Garcia Vazquez, Karen Vanessa Lara Castro | 1:03:00 |
In the post race interview, happy with their successful defense of their title, Sheridan summed things up well, “That was the hardest HYROX race I have ever done”.
Check out all the action from The Women’s and the Men’s Elite 15 Race.
