Hunter McIntyre and Lauren Weeks had made it back to the top of the HYROX podium after finishing second and third in their respective Elite 15 races.
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However, they weren’t able to enjoy their win for long as the HYROX Race Officials announced they were disqualifying Hunter McIntyre, and therefore Team USA, following an incident with Jeremy McConnell of Ireland:
A challenge was lodged related to a racing incident between Hunter McIntyre and Jeremy McConnell. Upon reviewing the race footage from multiple different angles, it was determined that McIntyre altered his racing line with the intention of creating contact with McConnell, which led to a significant collision and potential endangerment of an athlete. The HYROX Race Officials consulted with both team captains and the individuals involved in the incident in determining the outcome of the challenge.
This action was deemed unsportsmanlike conduct and will result in the disqualification of McIntyre and therefore, team USA.
Australia are named winners of the 2025 Relay Invitational and subsequent rolldowns are enforced
In terms of what went on in the actual race, Team USA led from the moment McIntyre took the lead in the SkiErg. With a stacked team rounded out by Dylan Scott, third place finisher in the Men’s Elite 15, and Vivian Tafuto, seventh in the Women’s Elite 15, the US went into the race as co-favourites with Germany.
With an average pace of 3:29 they stayed strong and fast in the runs. Then Mcintyre, possibly the greatest Erg athlete in HYROX history, blitzed the SkiErg to finish first overall in 3:24. He went on to complete his row in 3:34, which was enough for fourth overall on that station and consolidated the US lead.
Dylan Scott kept the pace high by finishing the Burpee Broad Jumps in 2:15 and the Sandbag Lunges in 2:49.
Vivian Tafuto overcame a slight wrong turn in the Farmer’s Carry to still finish second overall in 1:18. Finally it came down to Lauren Weeks on the Wall Balls. With a 20 rep start on the next best teams she was never going to lose and the US cruised home in 49:47.
Australia came out on top of an intense three-team fight for second place (now first), finishing just ahead of England and Belgium in 50:11. The Australian team of James Kelly, Joana Wietrzyk, James Newbury and Jess Pettrow maintained the same pace as the US across the workout stations but lost an average of 3 seconds per kilometer on the runs.
One of the highlights for viewers was seeing CrossFIt legend James Newbury rowing next to Hunter McIntyre and Tim Wenisch. Newbury’s stroke cadence was markedly slower than those around him but he was obviously putting huge power into each stroke as he finished in a competitive 3:46.
Ultimately the story of this race will be the disqualification of Team USA. Mat Lock, Technical Director Elite Racing stated:
“We’ve had an incredible set of elite races with fast racing on all fronts, our job as a sports team is to review the facts and make judgements based on the rules, we place absolute primacy on the sanctity of the race environment and make every decision based on that guiding principle”
Reaction on social media seems to be broadly supportive of HYROX’s decision:
In the aftermath of the decision, McIntyre took to social media to address the incident. He acknowledged the contact and apologized publicly to Jeremy McConnell, saying:
“Rubbing is racing and this looked worse on the live stream than it actually was. I have apologised to Jeremy for my conduct and he has accepted my apology. That’s the end of the matter as far as we are concerned. We are all good 🤘🏼”
He ended the post with a nod of respect to McConnell, writing “Thug love @jeremymcconnellcooke,” signaling that there are no hard feelings between the two athletes.
