We are deeply interested in where today’s top HYROX athletes came from and what they were doing before entering the sport.
On this page, you’ll find a range of backgrounds from some of the top Elite competitors, along with links to their HYROX results and, where relevant, performances in other sports. The diversity of these pathways is particularly compelling. Some athletes arrive with elite experience from another discipline, while others have little or no notable competitive background prior to HYROX.
What’s striking is how varied these progressions are—some feel predictable, while others are genuinely surprising. We’ve started by highlighting a selection of lesser-known athletes who appear to be on the verge of a major breakthrough, or who have taken a significant step forward recently.
Additional athlete profiles will be added regularly.
All athlete information is compiled from publicly available sources and editorial analysis. RoxRankings is an independent analytics and commentary platform and is not affiliated with HYROX or the athletes listed.
Paul Weindl
Height/Weight – 185cm, 6ft1in/85kg, 180lbs
YOB – 1999
Country – Germany
Primary sport background Highest level achieved
Triathlon
Paul was a promising triathlon talent with several top 10’s at German Junior Championships and European Junior cups. He also competed in the German Bundesliga for KiologIQ Team Saar with several top 20 performances.
HYROX Snapshot
1st – Hyrox Stockholm (55:03)
Paul’s triathlon career ended with a severe back injury. After prolonged rehab he decided to give Hyrox a crack – and hasn’t looked back. His goal of reaching the top level in Elite sport seems well within reach. He is right on the bubble to competing in the elite 15 and is part wave of athletes making this breakthrough.
Tanja Stroschneider
Height – 173cm, 5ft6in
YOB – 1990
Country – Austria
Primary sport background and Notable Achievements
Triathlon
Tanja is an accomplished Triathlete and has been on the bubble to qualifying for the Olympic games. Particuarly strong on the bike leg. She continues training for triathlon and races during her hyrox off-season. Links below to see her impressive Triathlon career results.
HYROX Snapshot
Tanja is a racing machine as you can see if the click the button below. She managed to qualify for her first Major in Melbourne in 2025 and finished 12th despite a very rigorous race schedule chasing the qualification standard. She is highly ranked in RoxRankings and her future looks very bright in Hyrox.
Sinead Bent
Height – 168cm/5ft5in
YOB – 1996
Country – England
Primary sport background and Notable Achievements
Track and Field/Road Running
Sinead was was competitive in Track and field in her late teens and early 20’s posting respectable times of 2:10 for 800m and 4:27 for 1500m. More recently she knocked her 10km PB down to 35:18.
HYROX Snapshot
Sinead has been an Elite 15 athlete for well over a year now competing at the tippy top of the sport. She has been top 5 at Elite 15 Worlds and was 2nd in Elite 15 Doubles in Chicago with partner Lucy Proctor. The sky is the limit for this young Irish lass.
Cole Learn
Height/Weight – 185cm, 6ft2in/88kg
YOB – 1994
Country – Canada
Cole was a Football (Canadian version) star in High school and spiraled into a life of abuse and eventual homelessness in his early 20’s. An inspiring story of hope and perseverence found him fight his way out of that hole and into a competitive cross fit career where he had some real success and impressive performances.
Hyrox Snapshot
Cole launched himself into Hyrox and became an international success in just over a year. He is a machine on the stations and can just about hang with the best on the run. He is officially Elite 15 and made his Debut at Hyrox Melbourne finishing 6th. Mollie Fkiaras lured him in to race Mixed Doubles on short notice a few days later and they absolutely shocked the Hyrox world, upsetting Hunter McIntyre and Joanna Wietrzyk and obliterating the world record. Cole has his eyes set on more records and Championships so he’s a Canuck you better watch out for!
Liam McCrory
Height/Weight – 180cm, 6ft/80kg
YOB – 1996
Country – Scotland
Liam is an ex-pro footballer (we call it soccer). He played Right back in the Scottish elite league for Dunipace, Cumbernauld and a handful of other teams from 2012 to 2025. Not feeling he was getting to where he wanted to be in football he thought he’d give this new sport Hyrox a go.
Similar to Cole Learn, Liam got Hyrox right out of the box, posting a 1:02 Pro mens time at his first crack just over 2yrs ago. He just keeps getting better and debuted in the Elite 15 in Melbourne this season and finishing 8th. That wasn’t enough for the young Scot so he backed up in the pro doubles a few days later and won that overall as well going nearly a minute faster than in the Elite 15 race!! Here’s another athlete where it feels like we haven’t seen the best of yet. He’s been working full time as a prison guard so fitting all the training and recovery has been a real challenge.
Mollie Fkiaras (Emond)
Height: 173cm
YOB: 1991
Country: Australia
VFL Aussie Rules Football player for Collingwood . This is the regional league just below the AFL national league. You can see some her league stats below.
So we are seeing some athletes with moderate sporting backgrounds break into the Hyrox scene and master it quickly. Mollie epitomizes this as she has won most of the races she’s entered in just over a year in the sport. The most being being the Mixed Doubles at the Major in Melbourne where her and Cole Learn smashed the World record. Where does Molly go from here? If she continues this progression we can be sure to see a lot more of her soon.
Fern Gardner
YOB 1992
Height 173cm (5ft7in)
Country: England
Ms. Gardner did a short stint in Triathlon before venturing into Hyrox. In three short years post pandemic she managed to win AG world title in Aquathlon (750m swim – 5km run) twice and make an AG Worlds in podium in Olympic Distance triathlon.
Fern made the transition to Hyrox seamlessly with some big results in her first few races. This season she qualified the Hamburg (6th) and Phoenix Elite 15 races with partner Kate Hutchinson. They took a big win at Hyrox Stuttgart even after losing a few seconds in the wall balls because of lousy judge… ;). Her exciting story continues.
Kate Hutchinson
YOB: 1990
Height: 171cm – 5ft 6in
Country – Great Britain
Kate had a very similar path to Hyrox as her doubles partner Fern Gardner. She developed fast with few years training and went on to make a podium at AG worlds in the Olympic Distance.
Kate has put up incredible Hyrox results so far in Pro Women’s and Mixed Double her biggest successes have been with Pro Doubles partner Fern Gardner. They are Elite 15 and were 6th at the Hamburg Major and are looking to be a fixture on the Elite 15 doubles scene.
Rox Rankings 