Sold Out Inaugural XENOM Event Kicks Off in Dallas This Weekend
Five hundred and fifty CrossFit athletes will head to Dallas, TX, to compete in the first Decathlon of Fitness at the Ford Center at The Star, the Dallas Cowboys’ headquarters.
The lineup includes a mix of lifestyle and elite CrossFit athletes vying for the XENOM world record and a $25,000 cash prize, including CrossFit Games athletes Olivia Kerstetter, Emily Rolfe, Kyra Milligan, Abigail Domit, Matilde Garnes, Hannah Black, Colten Mertens, Chris Ibarra, Jack Farlow, Bill Leahy, Jake Douglas, and Dan Bailey.
Remind Me
Founded by Keith Barlow, a CrossFit Level 2 coach and co-founder — along with Kate Burton-Barlow — of the public relations agency FittestPR, XENOM is a two-day competition featuring 10 fixed events that aims “to measure every facet of performance” and to create a “CrossFit Games level experience for the everyday person,” Barlow explained.
Similar to the Olympic Decathlon, XENOM uses a points-based scoring system, the Elite Performance Index (EPI), to measure an individual’s overall fitness and determine their global ranking across all 10 fixed events.
The top elite man and top woman this weekend will each receive $25,000, while the elite men’s and women’s pairs will each receive $12,500.
- At future events, however, XENOM will pay $10,000 to anyone who breaks the XENOM world record, and if a world record doesn’t fall at any given event, 50 percent of the pot will roll over to the next competition. And the next. Until a world record falls.
The second XENOM will take place in London, UK, on August 29 to 30.
What The Athletes Are Saying
Games veterans Kerstetter, Rolfe, and Domit all said their main reason for tackling XENOM is their excitement about what they believe it can offer the CrossFit community.
- “I thought it was a good opportunity to be part of something new that I think has the potential to be quite big,” Rolfe told The Morning Chalk Up. “I have always wanted to be a heptathlete, and this is basically the decathlon of CrossFit.”
Kerstetter, who will be competing in the pairs division in Frisco, added: “When the opportunity was given to the PRVN team and me, I thought it would be really fun and cool to be a part of the very first XENOM.”
For Domit, who is using XENOM as a “sharpener” to help her get into competition mode for the upcoming CrossFit Games, XENOM offers what has been missing from the CrossFit competition scene: consistency.
- “I’d like to see it attract all sorts of people who seem to be too intimidated by the constant variability of CrossFit,” she said.
Similarly, five-time retired Games athlete Bailey, now 42, thinks XENOM will be a great opportunity for everyday CrossFit enthusiasts to experience a world-class event.
- “I can really see the appeal for the die-hard CrossFit athlete, the person who is at the affiliate all the time, having the chance to go compete on a big stage. You’re not going to get that anywhere else,” he said.
And, of course, the $25,000 prize for the winner is an additional incentive.
- “The events look decent for me. It’s new and exciting, and there’s a good chance to win some decent money,” Farlow said.
Worth noting: Though this is only their first event, XENOM has already secured various partners, including Momentous, the official nutrition partner, Gatorade, the official hydration partner, and Pliability, the official mobility partner.
The Big Picture
How big XENOM will get is anyone’s guess, but it’s safe to say the brand has gained serious traction in a short amount of time, and its first event hasn’t even happened yet.
And nobody is more confident in XENOM’s future than Barlow, whose PR company represents HYROX.
- “What we’re building with XENOM isn’t just another weekend competition; we are launching a completely new sport…And for the first time ever, you’re going to see the everyday athlete performing on the exact same arena floor, under the lights, alongside the absolute best competitors on the planet,” he said.
Barlow added: “Dallas will set the baseline for human performance, and from this weekend on, the fitness world will have a brand new target to train for.”
