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By Matthew Robinson and Amanda Greenwood
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The Australian athlete Joanna Wietrzyk has apologized after she suffered bowel incontinence during a Hyrox race in China last week.
"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," Wietrzyk wrote on Instagram on Thursday.
"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. I take responsibility for my decision to continue and am deeply sorry for the discomfort and disruption it caused."
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Wietrzyk said that she had learned from the experience, "including remembering that there is more to life than racing and knowing when it is right to step away."
Wietrzyk added that she had decided to "retroactively withdraw" from the race and forfeit the points she had earned.
"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," she concluded.
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What Happened in Beijing?
The controversy began during the women's Pro race at Hyrox Beijing on September 12, when Wietrzyk experienced severe gastrointestinal distress during the event.
Despite visibly suffering bowel incontinence during the race, she continued competing through the remaining running and workout stations and ultimately crossed the finish line first. She won the race in a time of 1 hour, 1 minute, and 23 seconds (1:01:23).
Video and images from the competition quickly spread online, prompting criticism from athletes, spectators, and social media users who questioned why officials allowed her to continue competing on a course where equipment and workout stations are shared among competitors.
In the immediate aftermath of the race, Wietrzyk initially appeared defiant.
In a since-deleted social media post from what appeared to be a hospital bed, she wrote: "Go hard or go home ... a win is a win," before thanking supporters for their messages.
Athletes and Coach Defend Wietrzyk
The incident generated a mixed reaction within the Hyrox community.
Beijing Hyrox competitor Joe Ho said the discussion shouldn’t be focused only on Wietrzyk and organizers, arguing that paying participants affected by the incident also deserved consideration. He said some competitors could face both "physical and psychological consequences" from their exposure to the situation.
Wietrzyk's coach, Chris Bayens, defended the athlete and condemned the abuse directed at her online.
"What happened was an extraordinary set of circumstances that were unforeseen, rapidly evolving and almost impossible to fully comprehend in real time," Bayens wrote on Instagram. He argued that decisions were made by athletes, judges and officials under competition conditions and that judging those involved with the benefit of hindsight was "neither fair nor honest."
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Bayens also called out what he described as "hatred and personal attacks" against Wietrzyk, saying discussion about the incident was legitimate, but harassment was not.
Hyrox Apologizes and Changes Rulebook
The incident led Hyrox to publicly acknowledge mistakes were made in Beijing.
Hyrox co-founder Moritz Fürste said the organization should have intervened during the race.
"Hyrox made a mistake by not reacting immediately during the race," Fürste said. "Of course, we started improving event processes, plus making rulebook changes immediately."
The company has now updated its competition rules to give race directors the authority to remove athletes if blood, vomit, urine or feces create a welfare or contamination risk to the athlete or other competitors. Athletes withdrawn under those circumstances will be recorded as a DNF (Did Not Finish).
The organization has also condemned threats and abuse directed toward Wietrzyk, warning that anyone found making threats of violence against the athlete would face a lifetime ban from Hyrox events, saying in a statement that "There is no place in our community for threats of violence or encouragement to harm an athlete [...] Any person identified as engaging in this behaviour, whether through comments, direct messages or social media, will be permanently banned from all HYROX events."
PUMA Removes Wietrzyk Product Line
The fallout appears to have extended beyond the competition itself.
Sportswear giant PUMA appears to have removed the "Joanna Wietrzyk x PUMA" collection from its online store following the controversy.
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PUMA hasn't publicly stated whether the move is temporary or whether it affects Wietrzyk's broader sponsorship arrangement with the company, but, at the time of publishing, instead of seeing Wietrzyk-endorsed sportswear, the website redirects to a general Hyrox clothing page.
Key Takeaway
Wietrzyk's latest apology is a notable shift from her initial response and comes as Hyrox continues to deal with the aftermath of one of the most talked-about incidents in the sport's history.
Newsweek has contacted Wietrzyk and PUMA to ask for comment, and is awaiting a response.
Newsweek’s reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story. Learn more about Martyn here.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Matthew Robinson and James Debens
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