PUMA LAUNCHES ‘PROJECT PODIUM’ OFFERING HYROX COMMUNITY THE CHANCE TO BECOME PUMA ATHLETES
Global sports brand PUMA has unveiled a first of its kind athlete programme set to recognise, reward and accelerate the world’s best HYROX athletes, becoming the largest ever sub-elite athlete programme in the sport.
Project Podium will offer every mens, womens and adaptive solo athlete who finishes on the podium at the 2026 HYROX World Championships Stockholm the opportunity to become a PUMA athlete for the forthcoming HYROX season.
These top performers will receive pioneering performance support through access to PUMA’s elite HYROX athletes and training resources, be kitted out in PUMA’s best-in-class Training apparel and footwear, and have access to the innovation experts at PUMA who are engineering the next generation of HYROX performance products – all geared towards helping participants secure a spot at the 2027 HYROX World Championships, and unlock new PBs in the process.
Former HYROX World Champion Meg Jacoby said “PUMA has supported HYROX athletes since day one, and they understand the sport better than anyone. You look across PUMA‘s athlete roster, not just in HYROX but in all sports, and it’s clear they know what it takes to get onto a podium. This programme could be lifechanging for its participants and I’m super excited to support the community as they build to next year’s HYROX World Champs.“
The reveal of Project Podium continues PUMAs unrivalled support of sub-elite athletes, having seen significant success in its Project3 running innitiative that launched in January 2025 and has engaged more than 600 runners globally. Now, the HYROX community has a similar opportunity to join the PUMA family, becoming legitimate ambassadors of the brand alongside iconic names like Usain Bolt, A$AP Rocky, Julien Alfred, Mondo Duplantis, Breanna Stewart and Joanna Wietrzyk.
Marwin Hoffman, VP of Training at PUMA said “Not only is PUMA investing in product and innovations to drive the sport forward, we’re investing in the athletes that make this the fastest growing sports community on the planet. Project Podium is the start of a new journey for us in HYROX, and one that we are confident will cement our legacy as the number one brand in the sport.“
In addition to launching Project Podium, PUMA has also revealed a series of events and activations in Stockholm, including its highly-anticipated NITRO™ Lab.
After an iconic UK debut at the London Marathon, The NITRO™ Lab will transform into a dedicated HYROX performance hub, allowing the community to test their individual running performance against 1km benchmark times set by PUMA’s fastest Elite 15 athletes Jake Williamson and Joanna Wietrzyk. Participants who beat the elite athletes times will win a pair of Deviate NITRO™ Elite HYROX.
PUMA will also host a Midsommar Shakeout Run on Friday 19 June, taking runners through central Stockholm before finishing at the famous Gröna Lund theme park, which will be exclusively open to PUMA runners. The first 100 runners to arrive at the meet point will be able to exchange their shoes for a pair of Deviate NITRO™ Elite HYROX. This is a ticketed event with a maximum capacity.
