Gabrielle Nikora-Baker, a former flight attendant, has rapidly risen in the Hyrox fitness racing world.
Aiden McLaughlin for LockerRoom
When she was a flight attendant for Air New Zealand, Gabrielle Nikora-Baker was flying high, day in, day out. Now, the sky’s the limit for the 34-year-old in the exciting world of Hyrox, the fitness-racing format that’s become a worldwide phenomenon.
The 34-year-old Kiwi, who competed in her first Hyrox race less than two years ago, has quickly climbed the world rankings to her current standing of No 9. After initially competing in doubles events, she took part in her first individual race in July last year.
Unlike many of her fellow Hyrox competitors, who are cyclists, swimmers or runners, Nikora-Baker doesn’t have an endurance background. Instead, she previously took part in bodybuilding.
“I competed a few times in New Zealand in bikini competitions. It was something to train for and I got approached by someone at a gym telling me I had great potential in the bodybuilding space, so I gave a few competitions a go and then after the Covid lockdowns, my training completely changed up and I was doing a lot of cross-fit with friends, training from home with minimal equipment,” Nikora-Baker says.
“But then I was feeling quite lost with my training, and I set the goal that I wanted to get strong and build muscle, so I did that for five years. But I wasn’t feeling very challenged, so I set myself a New Year’s resolution in 2024; I needed to be humble, and I need to start from scratch with something. So a friend, Damian Votta, told me about Hyrox, and asked me to do the mixed doubles with him. It sounded scary, but it gave me a reason to start running and I had a goal to work towards.”
Hyrox, which was launched in Germany in 2017, combines 8km of running with eight workout stations; ski erg, sled pull, burpee broad jumps, rowing, farmers’ carry, sandbag lunges and walls balls. Athletes run 1km, followed by a workout station, repeating the process eight times.
Races are usually run indoors and athletes can compete individually, in doubles or as a relay team. In doubles, both athletes run together and split the eight workouts as they choose. In relays, teams of four complete, with each member running two sets of 1km and completing two workstations. In the individual and doubles divisions, pro races are available, which have heavier weights at the workstations.
“It’s very inclusive. There are people in their seventies and eighties competing, and there’s also the adaptive division, which is for athletes with physical, visual or neurological impairments,” Nikora-Baker says.
After three mixed doubles races with Votta, Nikora-Baker teamed up with Scotland’s Nicola-Georgia Macbeth to compete in pro doubles races. They had instant success, winning their first three races in Melbourne, Auckland and Brisbane in late 2024 and early 2025. Their performances earned them a spot in the Elite 15 doubles events, which brings together the top 15 duos in the world. They finished 12th in the Chicago Elite 15 event last June and 13th in Melbourne’s race in December.
By her own admission, Nikora-Baker’s Hyrox training was “chilled” in the early days, but after her first solo race in Sydney in July last year, where she finished second in the pro division, she realised if she took Hyrox more seriously, she could go far.
Soon after, fellow Kiwi Beau Wills, himself ranked 15th in the world in men’s Hyrox, came on board to train her. Nikora-Baker went on to win the individual pro event in Boston in September and finished second in her next pro race in Chicago in November, a combination of results that saw her qualify for the Elite 15 races (the top 15 athletes are chosen based on an average time of their best two performances).
In her debut Elite 15 race in Melbourne in December, she finished ninth and then followed that up with a fifth place in Phoenix at the end of January, a result that has also seen her qualify for the Hyrox World Championships in Sweden this June.
“If you’d told me six months ago I’d be where I am I wouldn’t have believed you. It’s all compounded and snowballed quickly based on what’s happened. I hope to do well at Worlds, which opens up doors, but I’m not doing it for the money or exposure, it’s more just about taking the opportunity. I’ve got this healthy body and I’ve got the capacity to do it.”
Nikora-Baker was born and raised in Nelson, relocating to Melbourne seven years ago after seeking a change from the routine of life at 40,000 feet.
“I’ve always been very interested in the health and fitness space and although I found the whole flight attendant lifestyle new and exciting at the start, after quite a few years it’s not the healthiest or most stable lifestyle,” she says.
Nikora-Baker made the switch to personal training, working at City Fitness for 18 months before moving to Australia. Within six months, the Covid pandemic hit and all the gyms were closed, meaning that she needed to find new ways of working. She reacted by moving her business online.
She’s now a women’s online fitness and nutrition coach, in her words “helping women perform, feel and become their best self”.
“It’s very rewarding, it doesn’t really feel like a job. When people ask me what I’d be doing if I wasn’t working in the fitness industry, I honestly have no idea. It’s what I love.”
Nikora-Baker has noticed an evolution in the type of clients that she works with. Initially, they were coming to her for lifestyle fitness goals, but she estimates that 60% to 70% of her current clients take part in Hyrox themselves, with their ages ranging from early 20s to people in their 60s.
“I didn’t plan on ending up where I am with Hyrox, I thought I’d do one and that would be it, but you get sucked in and you want to do it again and before you know it, you’ve done 10 races. It works well with my lifestyle, I help my clients with it, and doing well at it is the cherry on top.
After 650 athletes took part in the first Hyrox event in 2017, the sport has grown hugely year-on-year, with a forecast 1.3-1.5 million participants expected worldwide in the current 2025-26 season.
New Zealand’s first Hyrox event was at the Auckland Showgrounds at the start of February last year, with approximately 6000 athletes competing over two days. This year’s event almost doubled in size, with nearly 11,000 athletes taking part at the same venue, between January 29 and February 1.
“It’s definitely taking off in New Zealand. I still have a client base in New Zealand which makes me feel really connected. The Auckland event was over two days last year, but that was increased to four days this year. They’re also talking about a second race in Auckland, which would be amazing,” Nikora-Baker says.
This story was originally published at Newsroom.co.nz and is republished with permission.