Hyrox Youngstars, open to kids aged 8 to 15, set for Singapore in November
Sign up now: Get the biggest sports news in your inbox
In a media statement on Oct 6, Hyrox said it is expecting around 2,000 young participants to sign up for the format in Singapore.
ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG
- Hyrox Youngstars, for ages 8 to 15, will debut in Asia at the Singapore event on Nov 28-29, with age-tailored fitness challenges.
- The event expects about 2,000 young participants and features adapted races with the same exercise stations as adult Hyrox races.
- Hyrox, founded in Germany in 2017, has grown globally with over 1.5 million participants and views Singapore as key to expanding its youth format in Asia.
AI generated
SINGAPORE – Think you are too young to take part in Hyrox? Think again.
When the next edition of the global fitness phenomenon returns to Singapore from Nov 26 to 29, youngsters aged eight to 15 will be able to participate in the Hyrox Youngstars format.
In a media statement on Oct 6, Hyrox said it is expecting around 2,000 young participants to sign up for the AIA Hyrox Youngstars Singapore, which will be held on Nov 28 and 29.
Youngstars was introduced as a permanent race format at Hyrox’s event in Amsterdam in January 2026, and has also been held in London; Berlin; Maastricht in the Netherlands; Salt Lake City in the US; and Oslo, Norway.
It added that “the age-adapted format is designed to introduce young athletes to fitness racing, with movements, repetitions, distances and weights tailored to each age group”.
The edition here will be the first time the Youngstars format will be held in Asia, with registration open on Oct 8 on the official Hyrox website.
Co-founded in Germany in 2017 by race event organiser Christian Toetzke and Olympic gold-medallist hockey player Moritz Furste, Hyrox has evolved into a global phenomenon and has reached more than 1.5 million participants in 2026.
A Hyrox race comprises an 8km run interspersed with eight exercise stations – 1,000m SkiErg (indoor skiing machine), 50m sled pull, 50m sled push, 80m burpee broad jumps, 1,000m rowing, 200m farmer’s carry, 100m sandbag lunges and 75 or 100 wall balls.
The Hyrox Youngstars will take part in similar events, but some events have different criteria for youth of different age ranges.
For example, for the wall balls component, participants aged eight to 11 are required to complete weighted squats, while those aged 12 to 15 perform wall balls using prescribed weights and target heights.
And at the burpee broad jumps, while those aged eight and nine perform frogger jumps, participants aged 10 to 15 complete chest-to-floor burpees followed by broad jumps.
For the SkiErg, sled pull and push, rowing, farmer’s carry and lunges stations, each youngster has to complete varying distances assigned to his or her age group.
Hyrox Youngstars head Jessica Petty said: “Launching the first Hyrox Youngstars race in Asia, here in Singapore, is an incredibly special moment.
“Singapore hosted one of our first Youngstars activations in 2024, with the region playing a key role in shaping the race concept and format we now know today... To see it all come full circle with our first race in Asia is something we are incredibly proud of.”
Since its debut in Singapore in August 2023, Hyrox has held six events in Singapore, with the most recent being in April 2026, where a record 14,500 people took part.
A potential participant in the new format for children is nine-year-old Eva, the daughter of former national runner Yvonne Chee, 46.
Chee, an executive director at a bank, is South-east Asia’s highest-ranked woman in the Hyrox elite rankings leaderboard.
She said Eva has been dabbling with Hyrox stations at home, having watched her mother train and compete.
Chee told The Straits Times on Oct 7: “She expressed interest way back when we told her there is a kids version of Hyrox. We told her Singapore is having one and she’s been curious to find out the requirements for the stations. She also said she wants to win more flags than me.”
Hyrox athletes earn flags for finishing in the top three at competitions. Chee has 48 flags from 56 races.
Also keen to take part are Livie and George Hooper, who are 10 and eight respectively.
“Livie did it previously in Singapore (during the Youngstars activations in 2024) and now George wants to try as well,” said their father Scott, a 43-year-old physical education teacher.
“I do Hyrox, and so does my wife Laura, who is also a PE teacher. That’s why the kids like to exercise. We try to train together as a family. Usually they are our supporters, but when I found out that Hyrox was coming back to Singapore and there is a kids’ version, they said: ‘Can we sign up?’”