\u201cBut then I was feeling quite lost with my training, and I set the goal that I wanted to get strong and build muscle, so I did that for five years. But I wasn\u2019t feeling very challenged, so I set myself a New Year\u2019s resolution in 2024; I needed to be humble, and I need to start from scratch with something. So a friend, Damian Votta, told me about Hyrox, and asked me to do the mixed doubles with him. It sounded scary, but it gave me a reason to start running and I had a goal to work towards.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hyrox, which was launched in Germany in 2017, combines 8km of running with eight workout stations; ski erg, sled pull, burpee broad jumps, rowing, farmers\u2019 carry, sandbag lunges and walls balls. Athletes run 1km, followed by a workout station, repeating the process eight times.<\/p>\n
Races are usually run indoors and athletes can compete individually, in doubles or as a relay team. In doubles, both athletes run together and split the eight workouts as they choose. In relays, teams of four complete, with each member running two sets of 1km and completing two workstations. In the individual and doubles divisions, pro races are available, which have heavier weights at the workstations.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very inclusive. There are people in their seventies and eighties competing, and there\u2019s also the adaptive division, which is for athletes with physical, visual or neurological impairments,\u201d Nikora-Baker says.<\/p>\n
After three mixed doubles races with Votta, Nikora-Baker teamed up with Scotland\u2019s Nicola-Georgia Macbeth to compete in pro doubles races. They had instant success, winning their first three races in Melbourne, Auckland and Brisbane in late 2024 and early 2025. Their performances earned them a spot in the Elite 15 doubles events, which brings together the top 15 duos in the world. They finished 12th in the Chicago Elite 15 event last June and 13th in Melbourne\u2019s race in December.<\/p>\n
Nikora-Baker placed first in her category at Auckland in 2025.<\/p>\n
By her own admission, Nikora-Baker\u2019s Hyrox training was \u201cchilled\u201d in the early days, but after her first solo race in Sydney in July last year, where she finished second in the pro division, she realised if she took Hyrox more seriously, she could go far.<\/p>\n
Soon after, fellow Kiwi Beau Wills, himself ranked 15th in the world in men\u2019s Hyrox, came on board to train her. Nikora-Baker went on to win the individual pro event in Boston in September and finished second in her next pro race in Chicago in November, a combination of results that saw her qualify for the Elite 15 races (the top 15 athletes are chosen based on an average time of their best two performances).<\/p>\n
In her debut Elite 15 race in Melbourne in December, she finished ninth and then followed that up with a fifth place in Phoenix at the end of January, a result that has also seen her qualify for the Hyrox World Championships in Sweden this June.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019d told me six months ago I\u2019d be where I am I wouldn\u2019t have believed you. It\u2019s all compounded and snowballed quickly based on what\u2019s happened. I hope to do well at Worlds, which opens up doors, but I\u2019m not doing it for the money or exposure, it\u2019s more just about taking the opportunity. I\u2019ve got this healthy body and I\u2019ve got the capacity to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nikora-Baker was born and raised in Nelson, relocating to Melbourne seven years ago after seeking a change from the routine of life at 40,000 feet.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always been very interested in the health and fitness space and although I found the whole flight attendant lifestyle new and exciting at the start, after quite a few years it\u2019s not the healthiest or most stable lifestyle,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Nikora-Baker made the switch to personal training, working at City Fitness for 18 months before moving to Australia. Within six months, the Covid pandemic hit and all the gyms were closed, meaning that she needed to find new ways of working. She reacted by moving her business online.<\/p>\n
She\u2019s now a women\u2019s online fitness and nutrition coach, in her words \u201chelping women perform, feel and become their best self\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very rewarding, it doesn\u2019t really feel like a job. When people ask me what I\u2019d be doing if I wasn\u2019t working in the fitness industry, I honestly have no idea. It\u2019s what I love.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nikora-Baker is currently ranked ninth globally and has qualified for the Hyrox World Championships in Sweden.<\/p>\n
Nikora-Baker has noticed an evolution in the type of clients that she works with. Initially, they were coming to her for lifestyle fitness goals, but she estimates that 60% to 70% of her current clients take part in Hyrox themselves, with their ages ranging from early 20s to people in their 60s.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t plan on ending up where I am with Hyrox, I thought I\u2019d do one and that would be it, but you get sucked in and you want to do it again and before you know it, you\u2019ve done 10 races. It works well with my lifestyle, I help my clients with it, and doing well at it is the cherry on top.<\/p>\n
After 650 athletes took part in the first Hyrox event in 2017, the sport has grown hugely year-on-year, with a forecast 1.3-1.5 million participants expected worldwide in the current 2025-26 season.<\/p>\n
New Zealand\u2019s first Hyrox event was at the Auckland Showgrounds at the start of February last year, with approximately 6000 athletes competing over two days. This year\u2019s event almost doubled in size, with nearly 11,000 athletes taking part at the same venue, between January 29 and February 1.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s definitely taking off in New Zealand. I still have a client base in New Zealand which makes me feel really connected. The Auckland event was over two days last year, but that was increased to four days this year. They\u2019re also talking about a second race in Auckland, which would be amazing,\u201d Nikora-Baker says.<\/p>\n