Athlete who soiled herself during race returns to Hyrox after ‘traumatic’ backlash

Australian Hyrox athlete Joanna Wietrzyk has admitted she was wrong to continue in an event despite soiling herself, as she discussed her preparations for returning to competition after a “traumatic” few weeks.

Wietrzyk was hit by a sudden bout of diarrhoea roughly halfway through a Hyrox race in Beijing last month but chose to carry on, and won the women’s Pro event. But the incident made headlines around the world and sparked a heated debate within the sport. Organisers eventually apologised and admitted they should have stopped Wietrzyk from continuing.

“It was my decision to continue racing so I take full responsibility for that,” the 24-year-old told the BBC ahead of the sport’s Elite 15 division event in Hamburg, Germany on Friday.

“I didn’t really think about those around me. The decision that I made in hindsight was the wrong decision and I’m truly sorry for everyone that I did affect.”

Wietrzyk said she was “nervous” about returning to the sport, but that she didn’t “want it (what happened in Beijing) to become my identity”.

Wietrzyk said she had contracted a bacterial infection following food poisoning, but had felt “really, really good” before the race.

“It wasn’t until about halfway through the race where everything did transpire,” she told the BBC. “In that moment, right then and there, as a very competitive person and an elite athlete that I am, my only focus is on racing. Obviously I did put other people at risk.”

Her decision to continue sparked an immediate backlash, with other competitors questioning the potential health risks of using equipment and race lanes that had been contaminated.

Hyrox co-founder Moritz Fürste apologised “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,” he said.

The incident led to changes to Hyrox’s competition rules, giving race directors the authority to withdraw athletes if blood, vomit, urine or faeces pose a contamination risk to others. Organisers in Beijing also removed affected equipment, closed contaminated race lanes, and arranged for the venue to be thoroughly cleaned before the next day’s competition.

Wietrzyk later issued a formal apology, saying she regretted not stepping off the track, and announced that she would forfeit her Beijing result and withdraw from the competition.

On what she’s learned over the last few weeks, Wietrzyk said: “There is more to life than just racing and just winning.”

She said the backlash she received on social media had been “traumatic”, and made her consider leaving the sport.

“Yes, I did make the wrong decision but I don’t believe I should have received such backlash and such scrutiny online. At the end of the day I’m only human,” she said.

Wietrzyk announced her return in an Instagram video on Wednesday, saying she was “truly, truly so sorry to everyone that I affected, whether they were spectators or participants out on that race floor, for my decision to choose to continue to race”.

She also thanked those who had supported her through the controversy, saying the experience had been “a very hard situation to navigate” and “very confronting”.

Wietrzyk added that the support she had received, both personally and through her team, had been “so incredible”, before saying she was “super excited to go back to doing what I love and hopefully see you all out there”.

Hyrox is a gruelling indoor fitness event that combines running with functional exercises like sled pushes, rowing, burpee broad jumps, and wall balls. Unlike a traditional marathon or obstacle race, every Hyrox event uses the same course format and distances, allowing competitors around the world to compare their times directly.

The competition has grown rapidly since it was founded in Hamburg in 2017, with more than 100 events scheduled globally in 2026.