An Australian athlete has spoken publicly about an incident that overshadowed her recent HYROX victory in Beijing, admitting she regrets continuing the race and revealing she has now decided to give up the result.
Joanna Wietrzyk went viral following Saturday’s event after suffering faecal incontinence during the race but continuing to compete.
Wietrzyk ultimately went on to win, but the incident prompted criticism of both the athlete and HYROX, with concerns raised over hygiene and the situation being described as a biohazard incident.
Some participants have also demanded refunds in the aftermath.
Now, Wietrzyk has addressed what happened at length, apologising to those affected and explaining that, with the benefit of hindsight, she believes she should have stopped racing.
She also confirmed that she is retroactively withdrawing from the event and forfeiting the points she earned.
Writing in a new statement on Instagram, Wietrzyk said: “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.
“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.
“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.”
The fallout from the incident has stretched beyond Wietrzyk herself.
HYROX has faced criticism over what happened during the Beijing event, while the organisation has since changed its rulebook.
It had previously urged people not to direct their “frustrations” towards athletes amid the response to the incident.
Wietrzyk’s coach also spoke out about the “ugly” hate the athlete had been subjected to.
In her own statement, Wietrzyk made clear that she intends to step away from the attention surrounding the controversy.
And despite having crossed the line as the race winner, she has decided she no longer wants to retain the result or the points that came with it.
She continued: “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.”
This comes after she had defiantly shared a selfie to her Instagram Stories – which has since expired – which she captioned: “Go hard or go home … a win is a win. In all seriousness, thank you for all the support. I’ll be back soon x.” The image showed Wietrzyk receiving much-needed fluids and nutrients through an IV.
HYROX has also apologised over its handling of the race.
In an email to athletes who competed at the Beijing event, which was widely shared online, the organisation said it “sincerely apologise” for the “operational oversight” during Wietrzyk’s race.
HYROX also promised a full refund for athletes who were racing at certain times on Saturday.
But one of the most significant consequences of the controversy has been a change to the rules governing what officials can do if a similar situation occurs in the future.
The HYROX rulebook has now been updated to explicitly cover bodily fluids and the potential welfare or contamination risk they can create during competition.
The new section reads: “If a racer’s blood, vomit, urine, or faeces poses a welfare or contamination risk to the racer or to other racers, a Race Director may withdraw the racer from the race on medical grounds, in line with HYROX’s medical and hygiene SOPs.
“Any such withdrawal is recorded on the leaderboard as Did Not Finish [DNF].”
The change gives a Race Director the ability to withdraw an athlete on medical grounds if blood, vomit, urine or faeces creates a welfare or contamination risk either to that competitor or others taking part.
That means the consequences of the Beijing incident have extended beyond the criticism directed at Wietrzyk.
Having initially continued all the way to victory, the Australian has now effectively reversed that decision after the event by withdrawing from the race and giving up the points she earned.
She will also be taking time away from the attention surrounding the incident to recover and focus on herself and her family.
Featured image credit: HYROX/Instagram/@joannawietrzyk
