ATHX Games, the international functional fitness competition, has undertaken an intercontinental showdown pitting Europe against the USA on November 7, 2026. The dual-continent event marked a first for functional fitness competition history, featuring simultaneous, same-day events in Amsterdam and Los Angeles competing across a 15-point format.
Thousands of athletes showed up at the RAI Amsterdam and the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center this weekend for the Amsterdam and LA ATHX Games, setting the stage for a historic first in functional fitness: a cross-continental Europe vs USA clash.
Competitors in Europe pushed through a 2.5-hour test of strength, endurance, and MetCon X, setting the initial performance targets for the USA to chase.
Captained by fitness entrepreneur Ollie Marchon, Team Europe laid it all on the line across 13 divisions as international fitness influencer Massy Arias, captained Team USA. Following the final calculations, it was Europe who reached the vital eight points first to be crowned champion of the 15-point showdown, with the result 8-7 Europe.
Standout performances included Hendrik Jacobs & Johan van Coller who won a bonus point for Europe after lifting the heaviest LITE pairs strength total with a combined lift of 860kg. Brice Collidor secured the vital winning point for Europe after completing the heaviest deadlift of the two games with an impressive 272kg.
ATHX is aiming to build a new kind of fitness competition where people can test themselves, find their own measure of success, and share the experience with a community of like-minded athletes. Looking ahead to 2027, ATHX Games will continue its rapid growth, hosting 45 events across 18 countries and targeting an estimated 80,000 athletes worldwidee.
The competition took place in real-time on November 7th. The European leg at the RAI Amsterdam ran from 08:00 to 18:00 CET, setting initial performance targets across all divisions. As the Amsterdam event finished, competitors at the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Centre in Long Beach, CA, began their leg from 08:00 to 18:00 PST to beat the scores set across the Atlantic.
The event featured 13 division matchups alongside two bonus points, with each division decided by a best-of-three format across three signature ATHX Zones:
- Strength Zone: won by the highest average total weight in kilograms across three lifts.
- Endurance Zone: won by the highest average distance covered.
- Metcon-X Zone: won by the fastest average completion time.
Winning two out of three zones secures one point for the region in that division. Points were contested across 13 divisions in the LITE, ATHX, and PRO categories:
- LITE: Pairs (Women, Men, and Mixed).
- ATHX: Individual (Women, Men) and Pairs (Women, Men, Mixed).
- PRO: Individual (Women, Men) and Pairs (Women, Men, Mixed).
Two bonus points were awarded for specific achievements:
- Best Pair: awarded to the heaviest LITE Pairs Strength Zone total.
- Heaviest Lift: awarded to the single heaviest deadlift recorded across the entire event.
ATHX Games events test athletes over 2.5 hours across Strength, Endurance, and MetCon zones, with workout formats staying consistent throughout a single season.
Looking ahead to the end of the 2026 season, the ATHX World Finals will take place in Lisbon, Portugal, on November 27–29, 2026. Headline partner adidas will support the 2027 season, which is scheduled to feature 40+ events across 18+ countries with over 80,000 competitors, concluding at the World Finals in London, UK, from November 18–21, 2027.
