Prosperous gym hits global heights
The six Fitzzone members who will compete at the World Championships in Stockholm.
A Kildare gym is in the midst of a historic rise, with six of its members currently representing Ireland on the international stage. Fitzzone Gym, based in Prosperous, has been at the centre of an emerging new sport known as ‘Hyrox’, and six local members have reached the pinnacle of the sport.
Hyrox is an indoor fitness competition that combines 8km of running and eight functional workout stations, alternating between running and functional exercises. It bills itself as "The World Series of Fitness Racing" and "A Sport for Everybody".
Over the course of the current season, members of Fitzzone have enjoyed remarkable success, collectively achieving 36 podium finishes from Hyrox competitions all across Europe.
With victories in Oslo, Valencia, Verona, Poznan, Katowice, Mechelen and Riga, it represents an outstanding accomplishment for a community gym in Kildare competing against some of the continent’s elite athletes.
Speaking to The Kildare Nationalist, Assistant Manager at Fitzzone Gym, Billy McNamee, said: “Hyrox has become a really big sport, it's taking over the world really. There’s events on all around the world each weekend.
“We only started a few years ago and have 36 podium finishes this season - there's not many gyms around now that could even get one podium finish.”
It has been a year of sporting excellence for the Prosperous gym as a whole, but at the very upper echelons of Fitzzone’s achievements are the six members who earned the right to compete on a global level.
The brand-new Strawberry Arena in the Swedish capital city of Stockholm is hosting the 2026 Hyrox World Championships, an athletic spectacle that reflects months of dedication, training, and perseverance from the athletes involved.
More than one million worldwide participants began the season, with just 0.5% of those earning qualification for the World Championships.
The six Fitzzone members who will compete at the World Championships in Stockholm are as follows:
- the brothers who own of Fitzzone Gym – both live in Staplestown and qualified through a competition in Verona, Italy. They will compete in the Pro Men’s Doubles.
from Prosperous and from Grangeclare West, Kilmeague qualified through an event in Riga, Latvia. They will compete in the Pro Women’s Doubles.
Joining them in the Pro Women’s Doubles will be from Clane and from Staplestown, after the pair qualified via a competition in Riga, Latvia.
