Hyrox athlete forfeits Beijing win after on-course incident
Australian competitor Joanna Wietrzyk withdrew her victory in a Beijing Hyrox event after continuing the race while visibly soiled, prompting an apology and new safety rules from the sport’s organizers.
Australian indoor-fitness athlete Joanna Wietrzyk, 24, said she will retroactively forfeit her win at a Hyrox competition in Beijing after she continued racing despite visible fecal contamination on her body. The event, which combines eight 1-kilometre runs with a series of workout stations, concluded with Wietrzyk posting a time of 1 hour, 1 minute and 23 seconds, but she later posted an apology on Instagram, stating she regretted not leaving the course and acknowledging the disruption caused to competitors and spectators.
"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.
The athlete, who holds the women’s world record for the Hyrox format, had earlier posted a selfie from a hospital bed and a brief comment suggesting she would return soon. Hyrox co-founder Moritz Fürste also issued an Instagram statement apologizing for the incident and confirming that the organization has introduced new rules and procedures to prevent similar occurrences in the future.
"HYROX made a mistake by not reacting immediately during the race. ... We started improving event processes, plus making rulebook changes immediately," Fürste said.