Inside Adidas’ Annual “Primer” Event
Last week, the second annual Adidas Primer took place again at Adidas Headquarters in Herzogenaurach, Germany.
- The brand hosted its full roster of CrossFit athletes and, for the first time, its full roster of hybrid training athletes.
Since last year, Adidas has continued to invest in its training sector – the year-over-year differences in the Primer are among the major indicators. Compared to last year, the roster of hybrid athletes has more than tripled, with athletes representing the three stripes worldwide.
HYROX, Spartan Deka, and OCR competitors converged on Adidas HQ, having traveled from the U.K., Colombia, Mexico, Finland, Spain, Italy, and beyond.
Several of those included were 2025 HYROX World Champion Tim Wenisch, Elite 15 competitors Pelayo Menendez Fernandez, Elena Rouco Chas, and Graham Halliday.
Adidas’s presence in competitive CrossFit has also grown. Over the past year, the brand has signed 2024 Fittest on Earth James Sprague, Mirjam von Rohr, and Harry Lightfoot.
In addition to investing in individual athletes, Adidas continues to sponsor the World Fitness Project (WFP) as it enters its second year.
- The Adidas-backed ATHX Games continues to grow, with the first U.S.-based competition held on Miami Beach, FL, just one weekend after Wodapalooza, March 21-22.
Once again, our team was privileged to be on-site for the week of the Primer. Here are a few highlights that stood out.
Release of the Adizero Dropset Elite
The purpose of the Primer this year was multifaceted: athletes were given a week to train together, enjoy moments of levity (trying their hands at cross-country skiing and target shooting), and share in the grandeur of the Adidas campus.
Meanwhile, they were also providing feedback on unreleased products, undergoing maniacal testing by Gomaar D’Hulst and WOD Science (more on that in a moment), and participating in the anticipated release of Adidas’ first designated HYROX shoe, the Adizero Dropset Elite.
- The shoe officially launched during the Primer, followed by a mass social media burst from the athletes and Adidas staff, sharing the new shoe with the world. Adidas hopes it will be a major disruptor in the competitive fitness racing, and hybrid training space. Athletes were given the chance to train in the shoe and take part in friendly competition.
CrossFit vs HYROX Showcase
During the WFP Finals, after winning Project 1 (WFP’s hybrid workout), James Sprague challenged all Elite 15 HYROX athletes to a Project 1 showdown.
- Although unable to complete a full HYROX due to time, space, and the spectator experience at the Primer, the athletes competed in a shorter, hybrid-style race (the shorter time domain ultimately favored the CrossFit athletes). It was a spectacle nonetheless and a dynamic way to debut the Adizero Dropset Elites.
The challenge was open to Adidas employees, many of whom took part in the event, racing through the iconic laces building while hundreds lined the halls and balconies to watch.
Lactate Testing with WOD Science
Gomaar D’Hulst’s WOD Science team was in attendance once again, conducting lactate testing on the athletes, mapping their metabolic thresholds.
The tests involved incremental, high-intensity intervals to identify precise, personalized, and actionable training zones for the CrossFit and HYROX athletes.
- CrossFitters had to take on intervals of rowing (of increasing wattage), burpees to a target (with increasing reps), and thrusters (with increasing weight and reps).
After a round of all three movements, athletes had a minute’s rest, which included a quick blood draw, and then returned to the next round.
Athletes continued the test until they couldn’t complete the set number of reps within the time.
Mirjam von Rohr was the last woman standing, while James Sprague and Ty Jenkins battled it out together until the end for the men.
- The test for the HYROX athletes was similar, but the movements were changed up. They had running intervals at an increasing speed, increasing reps of wall balls, and increasing reps of bounding burpees.
What’s next for the brand
Back-to-back competition weekends are on the horizon for many of the Adidas athletes. Some will throw down at Wodapalooza (March 12-15) and others at ATHX (March 21-22). Since both events are in Miami, several athletes are taking advantage of the overlap to compete at both.
- Ty Jenkins will be at both, Laura Horvath at ATHX, and Jonne Koski at Wodapalooza, (just to name a few).
Adidas plans a large presence at the HYROX World Championships this summer in Stockholm, Sweden, as almost every hybrid athlete on the roster aims to qualify in at least one division.
This could mean that over 30 professional HYROX athletes will be racing while wearing the three stripes on HYROX’s largest stage. That’s not to mention the many racers competing in the new Adizero Dropset Elite – we’re anticipating a sea of black, white, and orange on the starting line.
Additional shoe releases are scheduled for later this year in the training line, worn by both CrossFit and hybrid athletes worldwide. We are also keeping an eye out for additional athlete partnerships across all areas of competitive fitness.
