Hyrox athlete Joanna Wietrzyk speaks out on 'regret' as she forfeits win after soiling herself during competition

HYROX champion Joanna Wietrzyk has broken her silence after soiling herself during an event in China.

The Australian world record holder was competing in the HYROX Pro event in Beijing when she appeared to defecate mid-race.

As opposed to stopping, however, Wietrzyk continued with the race, taking on shared stations including the rowing machine, sledge push and medicine ball throw before eventually winning the women's race in the 16-24 age category.

Following the race, the Melbourne star shared a selfie of herself attached to an IV drip in an Instagram Story.

She wrote in the caption: "Go hard or go home … a win is a win. In all seriousness, thank you for all the support. I’ll be back soon x."

The incident subsequently sparked major backlash from the sporting community and beyond, raising questions over HYROX's sanitation rules and how organisers should deal with such cases during competition.

Taking to Instagram today (17 Sept) - almost a week on from the headline-hitting blunder - Wietrzyk shared a statement apologising to her fellow participants, as well as organisers for the event.

"I want to offer my sincere apology to the people of China, my fellow competitors, the spectators and the HYROX organizers for what happened during the race in Beijing," she penned. "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 recognize that I should have made a different choice."

Wietrzyk went on to claim she takes 'responsibility' for her decision to continue, adding '[I] am deeply sorry for the discomfort and disruption it caused'.

"I know my actions had an impact beyond myself, and I am genuinely sorry to everyone who was affected," the athlete went on. "I am learning from this experience and will carry those lessons with me, including remembering that there is more to life than racing and knowing when it is right to step away.

"On reflection, I have decided to retroactively withdraw from the race and forfeit the points I earned."

The 24-year-old concluded: "Thank you to those standing by me, both as an athlete and as a person, during this time, and to everyone who has reached out with kindness and support. It means more to me than I can properly express right now.

"I will be taking some time to recover, reflect and look after myself and my family away from the noise.

"Love Jo x."

HYROX organisers have since responded alongside co-founder Moritz Fürste, who personally issued a statement 'addressing the China incident directly'.

In a social media post shared earlier this week, he apologised on behalf of the sporting event, confirming that its rules and procedures will be changed following the incident.

He continued: "I need to address all of you directly concerning the recent events in China. I apologise to all that were directly or indirectly affected, as well as to everyone who felt like we did not handle the situation like we should have.

"HYROX made a mistake by not reacting immediately during the race. In the end it is my job to foresee these potential incidents - and I did not."

Fürste then promised: "Of course, we started improving event processes, plus making rulebook changes immediately. As of this moment, there are new rules and procedures in place to prevent situations like this from happening again."

Rounding off the announcement, he penned: "We learn and try to get better everyday."

Tyla has previously reached out to HYROX for further comment.