A new fitness competition called XENOM officially launched February 27, 2026, positioning itself as a standardized, repeatable global benchmark for CrossFit athletes. The inaugural event takes place June 27–28, 2026 at Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, the Dallas Cowboys’ world headquarters and training complex.

Funding and Partnerships

Founded by Keith Barlow, a CrossFit Level 2-certified coach and co-owner of the fitness agency Fittest, XENOM has secured $15 million in seed financing led by WndrCo, the investment firm co-founded by Jeffrey Katzenberg and Sujay Jaswa. Katzenberg previously co-founded DreamWorks SKG and served as CEO of DreamWorks Animation. Jaswa is a former CFO of Dropbox.

Rogue Fitness is the foundational equipment partner, and XENOM holds a CrossFit Partner Event Series license agreement with CrossFit, LLC.

“I’ve spent time with Dave (Castro) and I’ve spent time with Don (Faul),” Barlow said during his appearance on the CoffeePods and Wods Podcast. “I can’t speak highly enough of how easy it was to work with them.”

Competition Format

The format is fixed: 10 events over two days, with 2,000 athletes per competition running in heats of 68 athletes at a time across three simultaneous zones on the competition floor.

Three of the ten events have been announced:

• Event 001: 1RM Snatch
• Event 005: 3K Run + 2K Echo Ski
• Event 007: T2B, Thruster, Muscle-Up

The remaining seven will be revealed in the coming weeks.

Barlow said Rogue is constructing what he described as the largest rig the company has built for a single competition.

Programming and Divisions

The events are programmed by Motion, a UK-based CrossFit team that finished fourth at the 2024 CrossFit Games and operates two affiliate locations with over 600 members. Barlow said the choice was deliberate, opting for a team with both elite competitive experience and daily affiliate coaching exposure.

Athletes compete as individuals or same-sex pairs across three divisions:

• Elite
• RX
• Compete

Individuals complete Events 1 through 5 on day one and 6 through 10 on day two. Pairs complete the same 10 events in reverse order, creating a different sequencing of stimulus.

The Elite division requires an application and is limited to one wave.

Notably, XENOM has no finals event planned. Barlow said he does not believe the current ecosystem requires an additional elite championship format, and the season is structured so athletes choose which of the 11 events they wish to attend.

Scoring System

Scoring operates through what XENOM calls the Elite Performance Index (EPI), a points-based system modeled on decathlon principles.

Each event carries a benchmark score of 1,000 points. Athletes earn points relative to that benchmark and may exceed 1,000 if they surpass it. All 10 event scores aggregate into a single total, creating a global ranking athletes can track across seasons.

Barlow framed XENOM in relation to HYROX during the same podcast appearance.

“If HYROX is the marathon of fitness, this is the Ironman,” he said.

He described XENOM as requiring full CrossFit training across strength, gymnastics, endurance, and metabolic conditioning.

Registration and Pricing

To mark the Dallas launch, XENOM is offering 250 free competition spots through a ballot open February 27 through March 13. Successful applicants will be notified by March 16 and must accept within 48 hours.

After the ballot window:

• Individual entry: $500
• Pairs: $450 per person
• Spectator tickets: $25

No prize money has been announced.

Season Plans

Season 001 plans call for 11 competitions across the United States and Europe.

Confirmed dates beyond Dallas include:

• London: August 29–30, 2026

Miami and Paris dates have been announced but not finalized.

The company has stated a long-term objective of expanding to 60 competitions by Season 5.

Trademark Filing

XENOM has filed a trademark application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for the phrase “Decathlon of Fitness” (Serial No. 99641884), which is currently pending.

The phrase has appeared in prior public marketing materials associated with Spartan’s DEKA brand.