From Rugby to fitness, Declan Fissenden took on the London Olympia Hyrox and competed in the World Championships in 2025 and 2026.
The Hyrox is a race format of fitness which combines an 8 kilometre running with 8 workout stations designed to test durability and stamina.
He said: “It was really good, bit of a surprise at first, I wasn’t planning on getting there. Like I said, we were just sort of like enjoying it and just sort of racing. And then I think we came fourth place in Stockholm in 2025, which was a class experience.
“And then it sort of like rolled down. So I think it’s top three qualified. Then because the first and second had already qualified, it rolled down to us.”
The growth of the tournament has seen an influx of events in areas meaning accessibility has been growing for budding competitors who want to start testing themselves.
“So like anyone can sort of train towards it and sort of like compete a race. And it’s a great achievement at the end of the day that it’s available to a lot of people. And because it’s gone so big, it’s sort of like everywhere now.
“And I think a lot of people who have sort of like similar to me then because sort of say professional rugby didn’t work out then, I’ve sort of like come across to Hyrox. I’ve found a lot of the high-end Hyrox athletes have come from another sporting background.
“I know they come from like a lot of endurance things and stuff and decided that they could actually make a living on Hyrox rather than not quite making it in a different field.”
Fissenden then spoke on how he got into the sport in the first place where he elaborated on rugby,
“I always played rugby from really young, since I was four. And then I got to a point where I was okay at it and got picked up by an academy. And then started doing gym stuff within that to try and get better at rugby.
“Started off with sports specific stuff and just basic strength training. And then started dabbling in functional fitness and stuff. Started enjoying that as well. And then through injuries and stuff, stopped playing rugby. And then just got into replacing it with something else”
He also mentioned the challenge to switch from Rugby to Hyrox. “I think it’s definitely difficult for people to completely change what they’re doing week to week, day to day, when they’re trying to progress in something like Hyrox. But it’s definitely doable. I think you’ve just got to start steady and work your way up.”
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