Going into the race, Joanna Wietrzyk was competing on home soil. Current champion Linda Meier from Germany looked hungry to reassert herself. Seka Arning was on great form after finishing 4th in Hamburg. Lauren Weeks and fellow Aussie Jess Petrow were also looking like real contenders. This was a stacked field and lined up to be an incredible race.
The Race
Lauren Weeks and Joanna Wietrzyk went out at the front right from the beginning. The two athletes had already qualified so both could afford to push their boundaries even more.
Weeks was first onto the ski erg, closely followed by Wietrzyk. Both adjusted the damper setting down to lessen fatigue. Both generated a great deal of force through hip drive and efficient triple extension. Arning came into the ski erg in eighth and left in third position.
Weeks managed to even lap Maier on the second run. Most of the athletes completed the first two sections unbroken on the sled push. Wietrzyk overtook Weeks on the sled push. Arning came out strong after the sled push. Most of the athlete employed a low body position, making it much easier to move the sled across the turf. Make sure to do the same in your next race.
Multiple athletes put on gloves before getting to the sled pull. Arning looked strong on the sled pull, as well as Finnish athlete Stenfors, and English athlete Bent. Every single athlete gripped the rope then walked backwards to propel the sled, rather than using only their arms to shift the weight.
Wietrzyk was first onto the burpee broad jumps, followed by Weeks. Arning, Bent, Proctor, Parnell, Petrow, Nikora-Baker, Meier, Stenfors
Lucy Proctor made up a huge amount of ground on the burpee broad jumps to chase Weeks and Wietrzyk.
The athletes went into the row with Weeks in first, followed by Wietrzyk, Proctor, Parnell, Bent, Arning, Pettrow, Nikora-Baker and Maurer. A lot of the athletes also lowered the damper setting. Force is applied at the start of the movement, and a smoother technique allows you to preserve energy and stave off fatigue.
Many of the athletes took on fuel after the rowing station, reiterating the importance of intra-race nutrition. Think about doing the same for your next HYROX race.
Weeks moved onto the farmers carry, followed by Wietrzyk. The latter looked like she struggled at the beginning but soon found her form. Proctor, Parnell and Bent were next, placing England firmly on the leaderboard.
Onto the lunges and the US vs Australia competition continued. Wietrzyk passed Weeks and set up a 10 second lead. Proctor, who turned 22 yesterday, went into the next run third. Arning got a no rep and had to repeat her final lunge.
Wietrzyk was 8 reps ahead by the time Weeks reached the wall balls. However Weeks looked rapid as she cycled through her reps. Proctor was third onto the station.
In front of her home crowd the Aussie looked unstoppable, clinching a convincing win.
Final Leaderboard
| Rank | Athlete | Nationality | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joanna Wietrzyk | 🇦🇺 Australia | 58:07 |
| 2 | Lauren Weeks | 🇺🇸 United States | 58:48 |
| 3 | Lucy Procter | 🏴 England | 1:00:02 |
| 4 | Jess Pettrow | 🇦🇺 Australia | 1:00:24 |
| 5 | Sinéad Bent | 🏴 England | 1:00:31 |
| 6 | Kat Parnell | 🏴 England | 1:00:35 |
| 7 | Elli Stenfors | 🇫🇮 Finland | 1:01:30 |
| 8 | Linda Meier | 🇩🇪 Germany | 1:01:34 |
| 9 | Gabrielle Nikora-Baker | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | 1:02:05 |
| 10 | Melanie Maurer | 🇨🇭 Switzerland | 1:02:56 |
| 11 | Manuela García Caparrós | 🇪🇸 Spain | 1:03:19 |
| 12 | Seka Arning | 🇩🇪 Germany | 1:03:47 |
| 13 | Tanja Stroschneider | 🇦🇹 Austria | 1:03:58 |
| 14 | Zara Piergianni | 🏴 England | 1:04:24 |
Arning had to crawl across the finish line.
In the post race interview, Wietrzyk exclaimed “that was the most special moment ever” and in front of her friends, family and home crowd, she knew that “this race was going to be mine”.
Sophia Parvizi Wayne unfortunately pulled out of the race due to injury.
