Hyrox organisers have issued a formal apology and announced immediate changes to their rulebook after Australian competitor Joanna Wietrzyk, 24, was permitted to race to victory at an event in Beijing despite pooing herself during the competition.
The athlete completed the gruelling race while visibly soiled, prompting widespread criticism from fellow competitors and health professionals who accused the organisation of creating a biohazard.
Co-founder Moritz Furste recognised the organisation should have intervened, telling followers on Instagram: “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.”
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Photographs from the event showed Wietrzyk running, executing burpees and hauling heavy bags as her own excrement was clearly visible running down her leg.
After winning the race, Wietrzyk shared an image from a hospital bed on Instagram, writing: “Go hard or go home, they say… a win is a win.
“In all seriousness, thank you all for the support. I’ll be back soon.”
Furste’s apology, posted to Instagram, was directed at everyone affected “directly or indirectly” by the incident surrounding Wietrzyk’s win.
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The co-founder confirmed the organisation updated its rulebook immediately.
“As of this moment, there are new rules and procedures in place to prevent situations like this from happening again,” he stated.
Before the race, Hyrox’s official regulations penalised competitors for relatively minor offences such as dropping litter on the course or blowing their nose onto the ground, but contained no provisions whatsoever for dealing with faecal contamination.
Hyrox China and Hyrox World confirmed they cordoned off contaminated sections of the course for thorough overnight cleaning.
Equipment that had come into contact with the matter was removed entirely, and the venue’s carpeting was replaced ahead of the following day’s competition.
Fellow competitor Joe Ho shared their frustations at the organisers’ handling of the situation.
He said: “For people who were exposed to that situation, there could be genuine physical and psychological consequences.
“I paid Hyrox to provide a professionally organised and safe event. So while I understand the athlete perspective, ultimately my contract and expectation is with Hyrox.
“If the organisation accepts that something went wrong, why not offer affected participants refunds, credits or some meaningful form of accreditation?”
The format requires athletes to alternate between a one-kilometre run and a functional workout station, repeating the cycle eight times.
Stations include sled pushes and pulls, rowing, ski machine exercises, burpee broad jumps, farmer’s carries, sandbag lunges and wall balls.
Events now take place in cities across the globe.
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