HYROX Winner Withdraws From Race After Soiling Herself Mid-Event
Australian HYROX athlete Joanna Wietrzyk has issued a public apology and retroactively withdrawn from a competition in Beijing after she continued racing, and ultimately won, after soiling herself mid-event.
The incident occurred during HYROX Beijing 2026 at the National Speed Skating Oval on Sept. 12. Wietrzyk, 24, experienced a sudden bowel incontinence episode partway through the race but continued competing, going on to win the event. Video footage of her finishing the competition circulated widely on Chinese social media platforms, including Weibo, RedNote and Douyin, before spreading internationally.
From Celebration to Apology
Wietrzyk's initial reaction to the incident drew criticism online. In now-deleted posts shared after her win, she reportedly wrote statements including "Go hard or go home" and "A win is a win," a tone that stood in sharp contrast to the apology that followed once backlash intensified.
In a statement posted to Instagram, Wietrzyk apologized directly to those affected by the incident. "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," she wrote. She explained that she had no warning signs beforehand, saying, "I felt completely fit and healthy at the start of the race, with no reason to expect any illness."
Wietrzyk went on to acknowledge that she should have stopped competing once the episode occurred. "Looking back, I regret the decision to not have stepped off the track," she wrote. "I recognize that I should have made a different choice." She confirmed she has chosen to retroactively withdraw and forfeit the 110 points she earned from the win.
Questions Raised About HYROX's Response
The incident also prompted scrutiny of HYROX itself, with many questioning why officials allowed Wietrzyk to continue competing. HYROX's competition rules already include penalties or disqualification for actions such as spitting, nostril clearing, littering and water abuse, as well as any behavior that could endanger other competitors, which left some fans confused about why this situation was treated differently.
HYROX co-founder Moritz Fürste addressed the incident directly in a statement posted to Instagram, taking personal responsibility for the organization's handling of the situation. "HYROX made a mistake by not reacting immediately during the race," he wrote. "In the end it is my job to foresee these potential incidents, and I did not." Fürste also apologized "to all who were directly or indirectly involved" in the incident.
In a separate statement, HYROX acknowledged that the situation exposed gaps in its existing protocols, saying an unforeseen situation had arisen in which rules designed for both elite competition and mass participation events became blurred, creating confusion about how they should have been applied.
A Broader Response From HYROX
Beyond the apology, the incident has reportedly prompted HYROX to review and adjust its competition rules going forward, aiming to give race officials clearer guidance on how to handle similar medical situations during future events.
HYROX, which bills itself as "The World Series of Fitness Racing," combines 8 kilometers of running with eight functional workout stations, including sandbag lunges, burpees, sled pushes and rowing, often using shared equipment between competitors. The competition format, launched in Germany in 2017, has grown into a global series with events held across multiple countries throughout the year.
As of this writing, HYROX has not announced whether any additional competitors from the Beijing event will be affected by Wietrzyk's forfeiture or how the vacated points and standings will be redistributed.
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