Rabat – Moroccan athlete Hamza Najih won first place at an international HYROX competition held in Turin, Italy, last week.
The 22-year-old competed in the 16-24 age category against hundreds of athletes from more than 20 countries. He finished the race in 1 hour and 33 seconds to secure first place.
Louka Pinard from France came in second with a time of one hour and 46 seconds, followed by Italian competitor Enrico Falconi, who finished in one hour, one minute, and 36 seconds.
Najih took to social media to celebrate his achievement, saying that winning first place has a “very specific taste.”
“This one I enjoyed the most. This one was personal. This one has a kept promise. This one comes back straight home,” he wrote on Instagram.
This result adds to Najih’s record in national and international competitions. Notably, he prepared for the event without a coach or technical staff, as he relied solely on his own training.
Najih comes from a family of Moroccan martial arts champions. His parents, Loubna Ghoul and Nabil Najih, are known for their achievements in Tai Jitsu and Sambo at the national and African levels.
HYROX is a fitness competition that combines running with functional workout stations. It’s designed to test strength and endurance, which makes it different from a traditional race or gym workout.
A standard HYROX event includes eight running segments of 1 km each, and eight functional workouts in between. The workouts can include exercises such as sled pushes and pulls, rowing, wall balls, burpees, farmer’s carries, and sandbag lunges.
