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Australian athlete Joanna Wietrzyk has learned “there is more to life than racing” and apologised for continuing to compete in a HYROX competition after soiling herself.
In a contest last weekend in Beijing, Wietrzyk soiled herself and went on to win the event, but has now withdrawn from the race and forfeited all points earned.
Videos of her continuing the race with faecal matter running down her legs were shared widely on social media.
Amid scrutiny over why she continued, Wietrzyk has issued an apology in a statement posted on Instagram.
Joanna Wietrzyk shared an apology online on Thursday, withdrawing and handing back points from the race she won. (Instagram: @joannawietrzyk)
“I want to offer my sincere apology to the people of China, my fellow competitors, the spectators and the HYROX organisers for what happened during the race in Beijing,” the post said.
“I felt completely fit and healthy at the start of the race, with no reason to expect any illness.
“Looking back, I regret the decision to not have stepped off the track. I recognise that I should have made a different choice.“
The athlete said she had learned from the experience “that there is more to life than racing and knowing when it is right to step away”.
“I know my actions had an impact beyond myself, and I am genuinely sorry to everyone who was affected.”
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In the statement, Wietrzyk said she had chosen to retroactively withdraw from the race and hand back the points she earned from competing.
Within the HYROX elite framework, athletes accumulate ranking points based on their placement and finishing time. The points contribute to national and global ranking systems.
Joanna Wietrzyk (middle in black top) has issued an apology. (Instagram: joannawietrzyk)
HYROX, a popular fitness competition launched in Germany in 2017, sees competitors combine running with multiple workout station challenges, including sandbag lunges, burpees, sled pushes and rowing using shared equipment.
The athletics brand, which came under fire over health and safety standards, has since apologised for “not reacting immediately” to the incident.
Rules changed after backlash
HYROX co-founder Moritz Fürste had earlier taken to Instagram to apologise “to all who were directly or indirectly involved”.
Social media posts about the incident during the HYROX race in Beijing. (Weibo, RedNote and Douyin)
“HYROX made a mistake by not reacting immediately during the race,” he added in a statement on Instagram.
“In the end it is my job to foresee these potential incidents — and I did not.”
He said new event procedures and rules were being drawn up to “prevent situations like this from happening again”.
The rules now state that if a “racer’s blood, vomit, urine, or faeces poses a welfare or contamination risk to the racer or to other racers, a Race Director may withdraw the racer from the race on medical grounds”.
Before the rule change, competitors were penalised for littering, spitting, or clearing their nostrils onto the race course, which some online described as a double standard.
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