The VORTEX Hybrid Games held its inaugural Algarve edition on February 28 at the Estádio Municipal de Lagos, bringing a new hybrid-fitness race format to Portugal for the first time. Open to athletes 18 and over in solo, duo and mixed pair categories, the event ran from 9am to 6pm at the stadium, which holds around 2,000 spectators.
The format is built around eight rounds, each opening with an 800-metre run before a different functional station: rowing and SkiErg efforts, sled pushes and sled pulls, burpees and wall balls, sandbag lunges and farmers carries. Every round finishes with a fresh 800-metre leg, and the whole event closes with a final sprint designed to empty the tank on the last lap.
Entry ran from €54.99 for solo athletes to €99.99 per team for duo and mixed pairs, with the organisers pitching the event as a “fast-paced and fun” alternative to traditional Hyrox-style racing — built around community as much as competition, and open to a wide range of fitness levels rather than just elite athletes.
Image Media had a five-person team on the ground throughout the day — Pauline Amorim, Fran Paulino, Anderson Yamada, Raul de Godoy and Alexandre — covering the full run of rounds from the opening runs to the podium. The Lagos date marks the first of several VORTEX Hybrid Games events planned in Portugal for 2026, with further editions scheduled at Portimão Arena later in the year.