It was love at first sight for Mikaela Norman when she first stepped onto the HYROX racing course.
After 10 years of CrossFit, the Swedish athlete switched to HYROX and hasn’t looked back.
Her first race was in 2022. She won the women’s pro division and set the world record of 1:00:45. Although that record has since been broken, Norman’s performance on her first outing exemplifies the pure athleticism and endurance she harnesses.
Norman is a decorated CrossFit athlete who has competed at Regionals and Semifinals and made it to the Games on the team in 2022.
- Her best finish in the CrossFit Open was 64th place overall in 2021. In 2019, she won Open Workout 19.1, which consisted of wall balls and calories on the rower.
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Making the Switch
On her way home from her first race, Norman decided to transition to HYROX. She almost immediately began competing at the sport’s highest level, making the Elite 15 and World Championship in 2023 and 2024.
- “After my first race, I just thought, this is so much fun, and I felt so motivated to try something new. I think it just got me some kind of new motivation,” Norman told Morning Chalk Up in an interview.
The decision to leave CrossFit altogether, however, was much tougher, with Norman saying it was a long process until she ultimately decided she couldn’t prioritize both.
- “I think it’s absolutely possible to do both, but I think that you have to just prioritize so much aerobic work in HYROX to be a very good athlete, compared to CrossFit, where the strength part is so much more important. I just think being on the highest level of both is pretty hard,” Norman said.
Norman is training under a plan created and run by John Singleton, founder of The Progrm. He also leads the official HYROX-branded training program.
Nowhere to Hide
One of the most significant changes for Norman was the training modality of HYROX itself.
CrossFit athletes have to prepare for anything and everything. They usually don’t know the workouts before the competition, or at least not with just a few days lead time.
- “Training for something where you know exactly everything you’re about to test makes it almost worse because we have to have such a high level on each part,” Norman said. “But you can’t hide anywhere; it’s really pure fitness.”
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While Norman said she doesn’t prefer one training style to another, HYROX provided the routine shake-up she was looking for and gave her a whole new outlook on being a professional athlete.
- “Sometimes I felt in CrossFit the frustration of going into a competition, but I have no idea what I’m going to do, and now it’s just so different,” she said. “And it’s refreshing to try something new and just step into a new area that I haven’t discovered yet in my life.”
Outside of training for HYROX, Norman coaches athletes in nutrition and personal training. She also holds a BA in Economics and worked as an accountant for several years.
On the Road Back
Now, Norman’s training looks slightly different as she heals from various injuries to her hamstring, quadriceps, and knee tendon.
She has since received treatment and modified her training, but she will likely not participate in the 2024/25 World Championship.
Norman has only competed in the Cigna Healthcare Hong Kong 2024 race for the 2024/25 season this season, finishing in 14th place with a time of 1:11:18.
- “It’s been a very tough time,” Norman said. She hasn’t been able to run for three months but is otherwise keeping her volume high and is fighting for a comeback.
Her only chance to qualify for Worlds is through a last-chance qualifier in late April. One will be held in Barcelona, Spain, and the other has yet to be announced.
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Featured Image: Mikaela Norman via HYROX
