Hyrox athlete apologises and forfeits victory after defecating during race

An Australian Hyrox athlete who went viral after soiling herself during a race in Beijing - before going on to win - has apologised and forfeited her victory.

Joanna Wietrzyk defecated during the global indoor race event in Beijing, and initially responded to her win with a post on Instagram stating “Go hard or go home they say… a win is a win.”

However, after the fallout from the now-notorious incident continued, she has now announced she will “retroactively withdraw” from the race and forfeit the points she won during the event.

“I want to offer my sincere apology to the people of China, my fellow competitors, the spectators and the Hyrox organisers for what happened during the race in Beijing,” she wrote.

“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 recognise 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,” she added.

The 22-year-old holds the Hyrox women’s solo world record, and on Saturday completed the Beijing race in 1 hour, 1 minute and 23 seconds.

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 format and distances, allowing competitors around the world to compare their times directly.

Facing backlash over the incident, Hyrox co-founder Moritz Fürste apologised to “everyone directly or indirectly affected”.

“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 in a statement posted on Instagram.

Fürste said that Hyrox had also begun “ 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. We learn and try to get better everyday.”

The revised rules will allow a race director to withdraw an athlete on medical grounds if their “blood, vomit, urine, or faeces poses a welfare or contamination risk to the racer or to other racers”.

Wietrzyk added in her statement: “I know my actions had an impact beyond myself, and I am genuinely sorry to everyone who was affected. 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.”