AYR HYROX ATHLETE BOOKS SPOT AT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Aaron completes two sessions a day from Monday to Saturday alongside running his own building company. Photo: Jacob Casha

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You may not have heard of HYROX. Aaron Bathis hadn’t either a couple of years ago.

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Yet next year, he’ll be rubbing shoulders with the best HYROX athletes in the world—and the Burdekin athlete fancies his chances of bringing home gold.

Aaron secured his spot at the 2027 HYROX World Championships in Hong Kong after winning the Mixed Doubles 35-39 age group in Perth with teammate Stephanie Wighton last month.

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The race saw duos complete eight one-kilometre runs in between eight functional workout stations—including sled pushes, rowing and sandbag lunges—on their way to the finish line.

The Ayr resident and his South Australian counterpart topped a field of more than 1,000 duos with a time of 53 minutes and 15 seconds.

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Aaron said the result capped off a turbulent few days, pulling through a below-par individual performance the day before to help claim the doubles victory.

“It was a good feeling,” Aaron said.

“I had a s****y race the night before and got in my own head—but I was just like, ‘I can’t let Steph down.’”

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Aaron said he and Stephanie found their stride early, setting the pace for most of the race.

“It was probably at the halfway point that we overtook everyone, and then we just kept on track,” he said.

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The victory leaves the pair as the No. 1-ranked duo in Australia and the No. 4-ranked duo in the world in their age group, with Aaron optimistic about their chances at the World Championships next June.

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“I’m feeling pretty confident [going into it],” he said.

“If we went to the [World Championships] this year with the time we just got in Perth, we would’ve won. But everyone’s getting faster. We’re getting faster. So we’ll just have to see what we can do in Hong Kong.”

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It hasn't taken Aaron long to reach the sport's apex.

Inspired by videos on his Instagram feed, he completed his first race in April 2025, clocking an hour and 19 minutes at the Brisbane event. After a year competing across Australia—including in Melbourne and Sydney—he was posting sub-60 times.

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“I've always been a really good runner, which helps a lot because it’s 70 per cent running,” Aaron said.

Now training remotely under esteemed trainer James Kelly—the fastest HYROX athlete in Australia—Aaron completes two sessions a day from Monday to Saturday alongside running his own building company.

Most of his sessions are done individually, which he said can require manufactured motivation.

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“I’m always watching the fellas down in Brisbane that all train together, pushing each other. Here, I just talk to myself. Manifesting is a big thing,” he said.

“The biggest thing is staying consistent. Consistency will win every time. Just keep going and see what happens.”

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With his World Championship Mixed Doubles berth already secured, Aaron will now turn his attention to the Pro Men 30–34 division, with qualification races in Melbourne in December, Hong Kong in early January and Osaka later that month.

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