In what was only his second official HYROX race, Josh van Zeeland – representing Luxembourg – finished fourth in his first ever professional event on Saturday, in a time of exactly 1 hour at the 2025 Brisbane HYROX Pro event.

We may be witnessing another athlete taking Luxembourg to the top of their sport. After Patrizia van der Weken's performance in Madrid on Friday, another Luxembourg "van" (a fitting description of van Zeeland) is achieving new heights for the Grand Duchy.

Following his first race – where he broke the Australian and Asian record in the Open category – van Zeeland qualified for the World Championships in Chicago in June and, in preparation, he took on his first race in the Pro category.

He was in good company, as legendary HYROX athlete and world record-holder Hunter McIntyre spearheaded a stacked line-up but the former Luxembourg international rugby player did not let that phase him. Instead, concentrating on his own race, with his mind focused on his goal of a one-hour time.

Van Zeeland ended up beating all of the big names – bar McIntyre – and narrowly missed out on the podium following the second wave of competitors finishing. For about three quarters of the race he was neck and neck with an opponent but managed to break free following the row machine station, displaying his dogged persistence.

It truly is quite a remarkable achievement to be rubbing shoulders with athletes who have been in the sport for years in only his second race.

Following the race van Zeeland said: "I knew there was a lot of big names in the race but I didn't want to think about them too much. I stuck to my plan and stuck to my own race. There were definitely times where I wanted to quit but I dug deep and pushed through. All in all a very good day."

RTL

© results.hyrox.com

What is HYROX? 

HYROX is a global fitness competition that challenges participants with a combination of running and functional workouts. The race consists of eight different stations, each targeting a specific fitness element, such as strength, endurance, and mobility, followed by a 1 km run. The goal is to complete the entire course as fast as possible. Each station tests a different aspect of fitness, and participants aim to complete the entire course in the fastest time possible.

The stations in a HYROX race include:

  • 1 km Run: A 1 km run to start and finish each lap of the race.
  • SkiErg: 500 meters on a SkiErg, simulating a cross-country skiing motion.
  • Sled Push: Pushing a weighted sled over a designated distance.
  • Sled Pull: Pulling a sled loaded with weights.
  • Burpee Broad Jumps: Performing burpees followed by broad jumps over a distance.
  • Rowing: 500 meters of rowing on a rowing machine.
  • Kettlebell Farmers Carry: Carrying kettlebells for a set distance.
  • Wall Balls: Throwing a medicine ball to a target while performing squats.