Northland retirees Bob and Sophia Warren have achieved an “incredible” feat, becoming the first over-70s world champions in a sport they’d only heard about six months ago.
The Warrens were encouraged to try Hyrox - a global fitness competition that combines running and strength activities - by their sonChris earlier this year.
Since then, the Kerikeri couple entered competitions in Auckland and Brisbane, which qualified them for the Hyrox World Championships in the United States.
The pair are now the first over-70s mixed doubles world champions after their win at the event, which showcased the world’s top Hyrox athletes at Navy Pier in Chicago from June 12 to 15.
“Our son said ‘you can do this Mum, no one else has done it at your age’,” Sophia said.
“He’d been doing well at it and told us all about it and explained how it worked.”
Touted as “the sport for every body”, Hyrox is a blend of functional fitness and endurance.
Sophia and Bob Warren are the new over-70s mixed doubles world champions after their win at the Hyrox World Championships in the United States.
It originated in Germany in 2017, with founders Christian Toetzke and Moritz Fürste wanting to create a mass-participation event that caters to professional athletes and everyday gym-goers.
It involves eight 1km runs interspersed with eight functional workout stations, including a 1000m stint on the SkiErg, pushing 152kg in the 50m sled push, pulling 105kg in the sled pull, burpee broad jumps and a 1000m row.
There are also 100m lunges with a sandbag on your back, the “farmer’s carry” with 48kg of kettlebells and Bob’s favourite: the wall balls, which involve full squats and throwing a heavy medicine ball at a wall.
Each race is hosted indoors, so spectators can encourage participants, who start at varying times and finish at their own pace.
The Warrens finished in two hours and one minute and were “had it”, Bob said.
The Warrens are jubilant after finishing the gruelling fitness course in Chicago.
They were supported at the event by Chris and personal trainer Gary-John Hill, who trains them several times a week at his Kerikeri gym, The Fitness Lab.
Hill, who is known as GJ, said the Warrens were “incredible”.
“They did amazing.
“Just to get it done is an effort in itself.”
Though the Warrens say they “aren’t elite athletes”, they have completed plenty of Kerikeri half marathons, and Bob has done a couple of full marathons over the years.
Sophia, 70, and Bob, 71, who founded Springbank School in 1996, said the competition was “hard”.
“It was a challenge,” Sophia said.
“But when you’re older, it’s really important to build on your strength and fitness because it’s not just for Hyrox, it’s for life.
“The fitter and stronger you are, the better you’ll be.”
Sophia Warren takes on the sandbag lunges during the Hyrox World Championships.
The Warrens plan on having a well-deserved rest before getting back into training to compete in a competition at the Auckland Showgrounds in February.
Jenny Ling is a senior journalist at the Northern Advocate. She has a special interest in covering human interest stories, along with finance, roading, and animal welfare issues.
