Hyrox athlete speaks out after soiling herself at competition
Australian HYROX athlete Joanna Wietrzyk has addressed the fallout after continuing to compete despite visibly soiling herself during a race in Beijing. She ultimately went on to win the event.
The 22-year-old was taking part in the HYROX event in Beijing on Saturday, 12 September, when footage showed a dark substance running down her legs as she continued through the course.
Rather than stopping, Wietrzyk carried on with the race and eventually crossed the finish line in 1:01:23, winning the women's Pro event in the 16-24 age category.
She is already one of the biggest names in the sport and holds the women's Solo Pro world record, having recorded 54:25 in Warsaw earlier this year.
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Images and videos of the health incident quickly spread across Chinese social media, prompting a fierce debate among HYROX competitors and spectators.
In a now-deleted social media post, Wietrzyk was defiant.
She shared a photo of her hooked up to an IV drip, captioned: “Go hard or go home ... a win is a win.”
She then added: “In all seriousness, thank you for all the support. I'll be back soon x.”
"HYROX made a mistake"
The controversy centres largely on hygiene.
HYROX races are held indoors and involve athletes sharing equipment and running across the same areas.
The course includes stations such as sled pushes, burpee broad jumps, rowing, farmers' carries and wall balls, with competitors completing a one-kilometre run between each station.
According to HYROX, contaminated equipment and affected race lanes were sanitised overnight before competition resumed the following day.
Some competitors and spectators have questioned why Wietrzyk was allowed to continue, particularly given the shared equipment.
One wrote: "She should be disqualified, absolutely no respect for any other athletes, judges and volunteers.”
“If I was participating and behind this woman, I would have thrown a fit! No way would I be touching anything she touched. Or sitting in a rower after her,” added another.
“This is a biohazard. Full stop,” insisted one commenter, while someone else wrote: “I feel bad for the other competitors. They're the ones who had to deal with this.”
Others have argued that the incident was the result of an involuntary bodily reaction during an extremely demanding event and praised her for finishing the race.
One called her the ‘ultimate competitor’ while another praised her as ‘brave’.
The incident has also raised questions about HYROX's existing rules.
The organisation already prohibits behaviour including spitting, littering and clearing snot onto the course, leading some people to ask whether its regulations should specifically address incidents involving bodily waste.
HYROX has acknowledged the concerns and said it is reviewing what happened.
Co-founder Moritz Fürste said in statement on Monday (September 14): "HYROX made a mistake by not reacting immediately during the race.
"As of this moment, there are new rules and procedures in place to prevent situations like this from happening again."
However, the organisation has also been firm in defending Wietrzyk against personal abuse.
“We recognise that this can understandably lead to frustration, questions and strong views within our community,” the company said in a statement.
“Frustration should never be directed towards the athletes themselves.”
The company also warned that anyone making threats of violence or encouraging harm against an athlete would be permanently banned from HYROX events.
Even though her time was considerably slower than her world record, Wietrzyk still walked away from the event as the winner.
LADbible Group has reached out to Wietrzyk's representatives for comment.
Topics: Sport, Health, World News
Jen Thomas