Noah Ohlsen Says CrossFit Games Athletes Can’t Hang With HYROX Elites
Ten-time CrossFit Games individual athlete Noah Ohlsen recently weighed in on the overlap between CrossFit and HYROX elites.
While both are impressive feats of athleticism, he believes they don’t quite translate from one to the other.
- “When I watched those dudes run, I was like, wow, we’re so far off. There’s no way that top CrossFit athletes are going to be able to hang with the top, probably, 10 HYROX guys,” Ohlsen said in an interview with Men’s Health UK.
Ohlsen, a new father, did not compete in the 2025 CrossFit Games. He is a signed competitor with the World Fitness Project (WFP) and has recently participated in other endurance sports, including HYROX and Ironman triathlons.
- He competed at the HYROX World Championships this summer alongside his friend and fellow elite CrossFit athlete, Chandler Smith, in the Pro Doubles division.
His best finish at the Games was in 2019, when he took second place behind Mat Fraser, earning a podium spot.
In the interview published last week, Ohlsen discussed his extensive career as an elite CrossFit athlete and spoke in detail about the larger world of fitness beyond just CrossFit training.
The popularity of HYROX has grown rapidly in recent years, attracting top CrossFit athletes and becoming a trending topic in the fitness community.
- “Crossing over from one into the other, I think it’d be a lot easier to go from my direction into theirs versus the opposite. But when you’re talking high-level elites, either one would be super hard,” Ohlsen told Men’s Health UK.
He further explained his reasoning, stating that the transition from CrossFit to HYROX doesn’t require many skills and has a lower barrier to entry. A HYROX athlete might find it more challenging to transition to CrossFit due to the high level of strength required and the advanced gymnastics and lifting skills that need to be learned.
- “You’re not going to see the top HYROX guy all of a sudden become the top CrossFitter, but you’re also probably not going to see the top CrossFitter be the top HYROX guy. And it makes sense, like any other sport where you choose to specialize in that one thing and you’re going to dominate that thing,” Ohlsen said in the interview.
The bottom line: Ohlsen’s conclusions should come as no surprise given the uniform format of a HYROX race, which includes eight one-kilometer runs mixed with eight stations featuring sled pushes, pulls, wall balls, and more. CrossFit competitions vary depending on the event organizer and may include a range of movements and modalities.
However, his assertion that CrossFit athletes can’t hang with elite HYROX athletes may raise a few eyebrows.
Featured image: Scott Freymond
