Joanna Wietrzyk — the Australian athlete who went viral during a recent HYROX race — is now apologizing after her diarrhea disaster.
As we previously shared, Wietrzyk was competing at HYROX’s latest competition in Beijing, China on Saturday (September 12). HYROX is a global, extreme, indoor fitness competition.
During the race, world record holder Joanna Wietrzyk was going through all of the demanded exercises. As she was using all of the communal equipment, fecal matter began visibly running down her legs. The incident quickly surfaced and went viral.
Social media users quickly called out HYROX’s health and safety standards. Users also condemned athlete responsibility and accountability, slamming Wietrzyk for completing the race despite her dangerous and disgusting diarrhea disaster. Users also slammed HYROX for allowing the athlete to finish…AND WIN…the race despite the incident.
Following the drama, while posting to her Instagram Story, Wietrzyk shared a photo of herself recovering in a bed at a medical center. She captioned the post, “Go hard or go home they say … a win is a win 
. In all seriousness, thank you for all the support. I’ll be back soon x.”
On Sunday (September 13), the official instagram account for HYROX worldwide, shared an official statement.
“To our community, As our sport continues to evolve we are encountering new and increasingly complex situations that challenge us and where additional clarity is needed. This happened this weekend in China. We ask our athletes to push themselves to the highest levels. At times, they will go beyond what even we thought was possible. That courage, resilience and refusal to give in are precisely what makes elite athletes so extraordinary. Our role is to give them the right framework and the right boundaries within which they can compete, perform and express themselves at their very best. HYROX has clear biocontaminant and medical procedures in place. In this instance, an unforeseen situation arose in which protocols designed for elite competition and mass participation became blurred, creating ambiguity in how they were applied and understood. We recognise that this can understandably lead to frustration, questions and strong views within our community. Those concerns are legitimate and, as organisers, we must be prepared to hear them, examine what happened and take responsibility for continuing to improve. And we will. But there is an important line. Frustration should never be directed towards the athletes themselves. They are the people who put themselves on the line, compete at the highest level and make competition what it is. There is no place in our community for threats of violence or encouragement to harm an athlete. As this has happened this weekend, we want to be very clear and direct: Any person identified as engaging in this behaviour – whether through comments, direct messages or social media – will be permanently banned from all HYROX events. We are currently reviewing and identifying those responsible, and action will be taken. We are proud of what we have built together: a global movement driven by ambition, passion, grit and an extraordinary community of people who care deeply about this sport. We will continue to listen. We will continue to learn. And, above all, we will continue to put the welfare and dignity of the athletes at the centre of what comes next. We move forward together – with passion, with grit and with mutual respect.”
However, HYROX’s statement didn’t necessarily suffice as an apology and social media continued to condemn the company. So, on Monday (September 14), the co-founder of HYROX, Moritz Fürste, addressed the incident and directly apologized.
“I need to address all of you directly concerning the recent events in China. 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. 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. 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. We learn and try to get better everyday. – Mo.”
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By Thursday (September 17), Wietrzyk is now issuing an apology herself. In her Instagram post, she said she should have never completed the race. Subsequently, she is “retroactively withdrawing from the race and forfeiting points earned.”
“Personal statement: 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. 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 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. Thank you to those standing by me, both as an athlete and as a person, during this time, and to everyone who has reached out with kindness and support. It means more to me than I can properly express right now. I will be taking some time to recover, reflect and look after myself and my family away from the noise. Love Jo x.“
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