HYROX has sent cease-and-desist letters to at least eight third-party platforms, alleging they scraped the HYROX Results Database and used the HYROX trademark without permission. The letters come from the HYROX Legal Department at HYROX World GmbH in Hamburg. They give each recipient seven days to confirm in writing that it has complied.

HYROX says it sent cease-and-desist letters to several third-party platforms over their use of its results data. In a copy reviewed by HFM, HYROX describes the database at results.hyrox.com as “the proprietary intellectual property of HYROX.” It also says it “is currently not in a position to grant a commercial licence or authorise third-party use” of the data.

HYROX says the platforms display athlete profile data, split times, race results, event allocations and historical performance records. The letter says HYROX’s technical analysis indicates that the data “appears to be gathered via automated scraping or extraction methods.”

The letter cites three legal grounds:

• Database rights: HYROX alleges that unauthorized use of its database infringes its rights under Section 87b of the German Copyright Act (UrhG).
• Data protection: HYROX says the database contains athletes’ personal data. It argues that extracting and processing that data without a valid legal basis or notice to athletes “raises significant compliance issues” under Articles 6 and 14 of the GDPR.
• Trademark: HYROX says the platforms’ use of its name could mislead people into thinking they are affiliated with or endorsed by HYROX.

HYROX asks each platform to stop scraping, harvesting or mining its results database and related endpoints; remove HYROX data from its website or app and permanently delete stored copies, derivative datasets, embeddings and database tables built from that data; and stop unauthorized commercial use of the HYROX trademark.

If a platform does not comply within seven days, HYROX says it will refer the matter to its external lawyers for formal legal action, including claims for damages and legal costs.

How the Platforms Are Responding

HFM contacted the platforms named in the letter. Two have responded so far.

RoxOpt told HFM it will drop some of its analytics features but keep its training product.

“We had big plans for how to use these analytics as a way to help serve the members of our community, but unfortunately we will need to pivot on some features,” RoxOpt said. “Our backbone is still training and that doesn’t change, but now we will just be forced to figure out new ways to provide insight to the athletes.”

HyCoach’s founder said they felt they had little choice.

“For now, I’m going to comply with their demands, since I’m a one-person company and I can’t afford to take on such a big player,” the founder said. “HYROX just wiped out 10 months of hard work with a single email.”

The founder said HYROX did not contact HyCoach before sending the letter. Afterward, the founder said, they reached out to HYROX about working together “in a way that is consistent with HYROX’s legitimate interests,” but have not received a response.

“I think sites like mine were complementary and helped build the community,” the founder said. “I suppose they just want to eliminate any possible alternative for checking results, but they should first ask themselves why no HYROX athlete checks their results on the official website.”

The founder also questioned HYROX’s motive. “Is it simply because HYROX is raking in a lot of money now and they’re starting to adopt the practices of multinational corporations by steamrolling everyone, or are they planning something regarding the results, and this a preliminary cleanup?”

We have also contacted the other companies HYROX sent letters to and will update this story as we receive responses.

When we asked HYROX for comment, a representative told us: “Our basic message to all those is that none of them have the athlete consents to use their data as written and we want / need to protect the athletes data integrity. Nothing more.”