HYROX World Champion Who Soiled Herself During Event Speaks Out To Apologize After Controversy

On September 12, Joanna Wietrzyk of Australia won in the Pro Women's solo division at HYROX Beijing 2026 and set off a literal sh*tstorm of controversy. Wietrzyk suffered acute gastrointestinal distress, soiling herself, partway through the course, but she chose to continue and finished in first place.

HYROX is a standardized global fitness-racing series that combines eight kilometers of running with eight functional workout stations. Participants run one kilometer, then complete one of the functional workout stations, then repeat this sequence eight times alongside the other competitors in their division.

Fecal matter was clearly visible on Wietrzyk's clothes, her shoes, her legs, her arm, the track, workout stations, and several pieces of shared equipment, as can be seen in coverage of the event. Her competitors either needed to perform tasks in her waste or wait for race officials to finish cleaning up after her while the competition clock continued without pause.

Wietrzyk continuing to race, and being allowed to do so, sparked widespread criticism regarding a disregard for the biohazard caused by the incident, potentially endangering other athletes and officials and interfering with her fellow athletes' performance.

Public outcry was further compounded by a social media post made by Wietrzyk, seen below, in the immediate aftermath.

The post included the statement:

"Go hard or go home … a win is a win"

@joannawietrzyk/Instagram

The post has since been deleted.

Some praised Wietrzyk for only focusing on getting a win. But the backlash against her also centered on Wietrzyk putting her desire to win ahead of the safety of others.

HYROX would go on to actually change competition rules because of the incident. Their rules already included penalties for participants "spitting, nostril clearing, littering and water abuse" on the course, but nothing regarding other potential biohazards.

HYROX co-founder Moritz Fürste apologized, saying:

"Hyrox made a mistake by not reacting immediately during the race. I apologise to all that were directly or indirectly affected, as well as to everyone who felt like we did not handle the situation like we should have."

"In the end it is my job to foresee these potential incidents and I did not."

"Of course, we started 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."

Now Wietrzyk has apologized as well after a major sponsor seemingly dropped her. Sportswear giant Puma removed the retail line linked to Wietrzyk from its online store.

In the wake of the incident, numerous parody products tied to both Puma (Pooma) and the incident were posted online.

On September 17, five days after the incident, Wietrzyk posted her public statement on Instagram, writing in the caption:

"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."

"...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."

"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."

You can see her full post here:

Her apology drew as much debate in the comments as her decision to continue competing did.

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The new HYROX rules will allow race directors to involuntarily withdraw any athlete if their blood, vomit, urine, or feces creates a health or contamination risk to the athlete, other competitors, or race officials.