The first American HYROX race of the new season went down on June 10th and 11th at the Meadowlands Exhibition Center in New Jersey. Notably, this was the first-ever two-day American event.
The women’s side saw numerous established competitors trying to get a strong qualifying time early in the season. All of the top 4 competed just two weeks earlier at the World Championships in Manchester. Despite strong efforts from all four ladies, they were all multiple minutes off of their personal bests. It was a tough 4.25-lap course with lots of congestion from the men’s doubles racing at the same time. Along with that, there were numerous problems with timing chips and the board which tells athletes which station to head to.
Lauren Weeks came out aggressive as usual and led the race from the beginning. She was first or second on nearly every station and the run total and clearly was a step above her competitors.
Places 2-4 were locked in a tight battle throughout. Kris Rugloski had two strong stations back to back early establishing the fastest time of the day on the Sled Pull and Burpee Broad Jump. From there, Terra Jackson and Alandra Greenlee slowly gained ground on her until eventually, all three ladies entered the Wall Balls within a minute of each other. Ultimately, Rugloski was able to finish strong and hold off Terra Jackson for second place on the day.
Terra would later express her frustration about the event layout on her Instagram account.
Women’s Pro Official Results:
- Lauren Weeks – 1:04:27
- Kris Rugloski – 1:07:32
- Terra Jackson – 1:07:49
- Alandra Greenlee – 1:09:28
- Lauren Rantala – 1:12:40
- Lauren Cullen – 1:13:09
- Amy Bevilacqua – 1:15:29
- Teresa Escobar – 1:17:43
- Ashley Miller – 1:18:30
- Janelle Teal – 1:18:51
Men’s Pro Official Results:
In contrast to the women’s field, the men’s field saw lots of new names and upstarts near the top. Contenders in the men’s heat were spread out among two heats making the podium race very exciting.
Heat One was primarily a battle between Eric Williams and Nick Ryker. Their racing styles contrasted greatly as Williams came out at an aggressive pace and established a one-minute lead by the time he left the Sled Pull. Ryker would slowly reel him in until he momentarily passed at the end of the lunges. But, a strong final run and Wall Balls allowed Williams to take the heat win and establish the fastest time of the day at 1:04:24.
First heat men from left to right, Nick Ryker, Eric Williams, Keith Hardwick
Heat Two was another close battle between Pelayo Menendez and Jarrett Newby. Menendez was the 2023 HYROX North American Champion with the Open weights and struggled at his first Pro race earlier in the year. However, he showed marked improvement with the heavier weights while maintaining his already strong running. Unfortunately, after exiting the Burpees Newby ran an accidental extra lap on the fifth run. That mistake would cost him around a minute and likely the top spot on the podium. When all the results came in, Menendez would emerge the victor besting Williams earlier time by 30 seconds.
- Pelayo Menendez – 1:03:54
- Eric Williams – 1:04:24
- Jarrett Newby – 1:04:33
- Nick Ryker – 1:05:02
- Marc Howe – 1:06:02
- Adam Di Fulvio – 1:07:11
- Keitch Hardwick – 1:07:32
- Alexander Golik – 1:11:22
- Stephen Harold – 1:11:44
- Konstantin Kutschenko – 1:12:30
What’s Next:
HYROX will now be taking a summer break. The next race will be the debut of HYROX Australia in Sydney on August 12, 2023. American racers will have to wait a full 5 months until HYROX returns to Chicago on November 11, 2023.
Facts and figures:
Date: June 9 – 10, 2023
Venue: Meadowlands Exposition Center
Number of finishers: 1564. This is an increase over the last New York 2022 event, which had 1018 finishers
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