From Rugby Pitch to Taiwan: How a German Triathlete's Workout Format Is Reshaping Elite Sport

ASM Clermont uses Hyrox for team building, Taiwan opens first facility, and participation surges worldwide.

The public square in Clermont-Ferrand looked more like a training ground than a city center on August 1, 2026. That's where ASM Clermont, the French Top 14 rugby club, brought its entire squad for an open-air session built around Hyrox — the fitness format that keeps gaining traction far beyond its grassroots origins.

Players split into groups of four to haul a 130-kilogram training sled known as a boudin across the Place de Jaude. Coach Christophe Urios reportedly used the exercise to evaluate leadership dynamics within the roster, with Selevasio Tolofua, Anthime Hemery and Étienne Fourcade singled out for their performances. The move signals how functional fitness has become embedded in professional sports preparation.

A Second Home in Asia

The same day the rugby team trained in France, Taiwan welcomed its first dedicated Hyrox facility. The Sanmin Sports Center in Kaohsiung opened with the inaugural HYROX Training Club X in the country — the second such venue in the Asia-Pacific region. The project carried a price tag of 86.39 million Taiwan dollars and includes a climbing wall, roller-skating rink, 25-meter pool and conventional gym alongside the specialized training zone.

Inclusion is built into the center's operating model: older residents get free access to the pool and gym during designated morning and afternoon windows. The facility joins another recent addition to the network — the "Ironbound" in Embrach, Switzerland, which opened June 9, 2026. That underground functional fitness space features 3er-series rigs, hybrid barbells, kettlebells, sandbags and sleds, with the layout designed alongside industry specialists to streamline workout flows.

Numbers That Turn Heads

The format's growth story is hard to ignore. In the Netherlands, Hyrox has become the fastest-expanding endurance sport, with interest climbing 3,000 percent over five years. The country hosted just one event in 2021; now five cities stage competitions. For women in the "Open" category, the average finish time hovers around 1:30.

Texas has emerged as the North American hub. Dallas extended its November race to five days, while Houston-based Powerhouse Multisport — affiliated with the format for three years — has doubled its participant numbers. Trainer Johnny Zepeda describes Hyrox primarily as a running sport.

Asia is embracing the trend too. A Shanghai event recently drew nearly 10,000 participants, with some observers framing the training as a modern form of physical labor for the middle class. In India, entry fees can reach 50,000 rupees, and homegrown competitions like the "Yoddha Race" are cultivating their own followings. Still, critics warn that athletic achievement risks being flattened into a purely measurable KPI.

Breaking Barriers and Building Routines

The format's reach extends to para-sport. Christopher Hoffmann, a 37-year-old born without a right forearm, claimed bronze at the World Championships in Stockholm in the adaptive class for upper-limb impairments, completing the course in 69 minutes. Hoffmann trains roughly 15 hours weekly and is already eyeing his next competition in Istanbul.

Digital offerings are keeping pace with physical expansion. On July 30, 2026, "Size Zero 2.0" launched — a program from Julian Zietlow tailored to shift workers with irregular schedules. The 70-day plan features 30-to-45-minute sessions, multiple nutrition options and runs through a web app, making it accessible anywhere. It's a reflection of how fitness programming is adapting to the realities of modern work life.