Jordi Fuhler (26) from Hoogeveen did triathlons for years, but then discovered the extremely popular Hyrox: a fitness match in which running and strength exercises are combined. He turned out to be pretty good at it. So good that he was recently allowed to go to the World Cup in Chicago, USA.
“I learned a lot from it. It was not entirely the race I had hoped for, but it was certainly a great experience,” says Fuhler. He achieved a time of 1 hour and 10 minutes in America. “It was a tough race, due to several circumstances.” He is still a bit disappointed, but is also sober. “It just didn’t come out completely, but sometimes you have.”
Hyrox, which has been around since 2017, has grown into a popular sport in recent years. “In the Netherlands, all events are often sold out,” says Fuhler. “You can happily praise yourself if you know how to get a ticket. He has an idea why the sport is so popular.” There are many sports that are very difficult and technical. But anyone who has a certain basic fitness is possible. You don’t have to do it in a top time either. “
De Hoogevener has been doing the sport for a few years now. He qualified in Heerenveen for the World Cup, three weeks before the tournament started. “I was with the best two, so I was allowed to go there. I all arranged that quickly. Quite stress, but it worked.”
Although Fuhler did not get a top time, the fire was fueled by the World Cup. “I have taken some steps to tackle it even more professionally, with a coach. I am not necessarily going to train more, but a bit different. And the goal is to qualify for next year’s World Cup, in Sweden, and to do better than how I did this year.”