The Welsh sisters taking on the Hyrox World Championships
Hannah Watson (left) and her sister Aimee are competing in their second Hyrox World Championships.
"I always say to everyone, all the children in my school, that my sister is my biggest inspiration."
Hannah Watson smiles as she looks at her older sister Aimee with admiration.
The siblings from Cardiff are preparing for the Hyrox World Championships in Stockholm, Sweden, while balancing their teaching careers and athletic goals.
Aimee, 25, began Hyrox two years ago as a way to maintain fitness during the football off-season.
Transitioning from defending shots from players like Ella Toone and Lauren Hemp to performing burpee broad jumps is not common.
Aimee was a goalkeeper for Wales' Under-19 football team and also represented Wales at Under-19 level in cricket.
However, it was Hyrox that ultimately captivated her, especially after involving her sister Hannah, 22.
"Competing as sisters, there's something inside of you that ignites a flame," Aimee told Wales.
"My first ever Hyrox was a solo in London.
"I thought I'll just turn up and give it a good go, had absolutely no idea what I was doing, but completed it.
"The next time I said, 'Hannah, there's some doubles, should we give it a go?'.
"Out of nowhere we were doing our first pro doubles together and we found ourselves on the podium."
A first-place finish in their age group at the Manchester Hyrox in 2024 secured their spot at the World Championships.
The sisters finished 37th in their age group in Chicago with a time of one hour, three minutes, and 56 seconds.
"I think everyone says it now in Hyrox, of course they'd love to be the best and that will take time," Aimee said.
"But we're prepared to go through it and keep putting the work in and commit to it and see how far it can take us.
"The training is about the process and going through it and putting the yards in every single day.
"We've got the right coach under us now who's making us hit targets we thought we'd never achieve."
This year, the sisters aim to complete the event in under an hour in Stockholm.
"Our goal for the World Champs is a bit ambitious," said Hannah.
"I think if we don't get that [under one hour] we're just going to keep pushing for it and then hopefully then next year do some big competitions.
"We are hoping to podium again and then qualify for the 2027 [Hyrox World Championships]."
What is Hyrox?
Hyrox consists of 8km of running interspersed with eight exercise stations.
Competitors complete 1km on a standing ski machine, 50m sled push, 50m sled pull, 80m burpee broad jumps, 1km indoor rowing, 200m kettlebell carry, 100m sandbag lunges, and finish with 100 medicine ball throws and catches.
This year's World Championships are scheduled from 18-21 June.
Training and teaching
Both Aimee and Hannah balance their Hyrox pursuits with teaching careers.
Aimee works as a PE teacher and leads girls football at the Royal Russell School in Croydon, while Hannah resides in Cardiff and is completing a PGCE after graduating from Swansea University.
Despite living apart, they maintain motivation through daily communication.
"It is a bit of a struggle but we like to be so supportive of each other," says Hannah.
"We always message each other every morning at about 5am, 'I'm tired, are you tired? Yeah I'm tired!'.
"It's been a tough year trying to fit training in and recovery on top, the workload has been a lot, but we're finally there."
The sisters also draw inspiration from fellow teacher Lauren Stockley, who trains at the same gym in Newport.
Stockley will compete in the Elite 15 Women's Doubles alongside Charlie Searle after finishing second in Warsaw, Poland in April.
"We saw her [Lauren] racing in Cardiff and we just thought we want to be like that," said Hannah.
"She is such a big inspiration but I know she puts in the hard work as well, it's what the sport is."
Aimee agreed, adding:
"The great thing about the sport is there's someone you'll constantly look up to and for us it's Lauren, being Welsh as well," she said.
Although training is demanding, Aimee embraces the challenge.
"It's like having two careers at the moment, but it's what you live for, you enjoy it," she added.
"On the weekends we try to train together and when we're in that pain cave, we are very much just straight to the point to get through like, 'Come on, pull yourself together, you'll be alright!'.
"More than anything the sport has grown us together, let alone the fitness side."
Hannah noted their bond has strengthened through competing together.
"I think we've never been so close, we always say we're each other's best friends and I think the sport has 100 percent brought us closer," she concluded.
