The key facts

  • Joanna Wietrzyk admitted her mistake and apologised for continuing the race in Beijing after a bowel upset
  • Hyrox has introduced new rules: race directors can remove participants whose bodily fluids pose an infection risk
  • Hyrox co-founder Moritz Fürste admitted it was a mistake that the organisers did not react immediately

Admission after the Beijing scandal

24-year-old Australian athlete Joanna Wietrzyk, in an exclusive BBC interview, given ahead of her return to sport, admitted that she continued competing in the Hyrox race in Beijing in September after developing diarrhoea around the halfway point of the course due to a bacterial infection, which she said was caused by food poisoning. Images showing traces of faecal matter on her body spread widely online. “It was my decision to keep racing, so I take full responsibility for it,” she said, adding that she “didn’t think about those around me” and that in hindsight she understands the decision was wrong, and she apologises to everyone affected.

The organisers’ response and new rules

Hyrox was criticised for not removing Wietrzyk from the competition. The series’ co-founder Moritz Fürste apologised, admitting it was a mistake that the organisers did not react immediately during the race. According to the BBC, Hyrox China also refunded entry fees to some participants. Since then, new rules have been introduced: race directors have been given the authority to withdraw athletes if their vomit, urine or faeces pose an infection risk or threaten the wellbeing of the participants themselves or those around them — a significant measure for a format held mostly indoors with shared equipment.

Consequences for the athlete herself

Immediately after the race, Wietrzyk was defiant in an Instagram post that was later deleted, but within a week she apologised, gave up her victory and retrospectively withdrew herself from the Beijing results. She also expressed regret about her initial post with the words “Go hard or go home” and “a win is a win”, explaining that she had been in a “fight or flight” state while seeking hospital admission. After her identity was revealed online, Hyrox said it would ban participants who send insults or threats to the athlete. She said the abuse also affected her family, and that the period was “traumatic” and “mentally and emotionally hard”; she even considered leaving the sport in which she holds a world record.

The return in Hamburg

On Friday, Wietrzyk is due to compete in Hamburg — the city where Hyrox was founded in 2017 and from which the series has since grown to a global scale. She admitted she is nervous about her return and hopes the incident will not become her “identity”. “Yes, I made the wrong decision, but I don’t think I deserved such a wave of condemnation… At the end of the day, I’m only human,” she said.

Joanna Wietrzyk wears a black sports bra and a dark headband with the words 'the feed' printed in green letters. Her hair is tied back into a plait and she is mid-run.Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Wietrzyk said she had suffered a bacterial infection from food poisoning

A young woman with hair in a pigtail
Image caption,

Joanna Wietrzyk suggested her determination to win clouded her judgement

Joanna Wietrzyk competing in Hyrox competition lifting a heavy bag as an official looks on.Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Hyrox drew criticism for not removing Wietrzyk from the competition

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Aki Yoshida of Japan celebrates her victory at Hyrox Beijing in SeptemberJoanna Wietrzyk wears a black sports bra and a dark headband with the words 'the feed' printed in green letters. Her hair is tied back into a plait and she is mid-run.