JOANNA WIETRZYK APOLOGISES FOR CONTINUING HYROX RACE

Australian athlete Joanna Wietrzyk has apologised for continuing a Hyrox race in Beijing after she suffered diarrhoea during the event in September. Wietrzyk said her decision put other people at risk. “It was my decision to continue racing so I take full responsibility for that,” she said. She said she had not thought about those around her at the time and now believed she made the wrong decision. She later said she would forfeit her win and withdraw from the race retroactively.

Wietrzyk suffered the illness roughly halfway through the race, and images showing faecal matter on her body circulated online. Hyrox participants alternate one-kilometre runs with exercises that include indoor rowing, sled pushes and lunges while carrying a sandbag. Competitors use shared equipment at events that Hyrox holds primarily indoors. Wietrzyk said no official encouraged her to stop during the race. Hyrox co-founder Moritz Fürste apologised and said organisers had made a mistake by failing to react immediately.

Hyrox has since introduced rules allowing race directors to remove athletes whose vomit, urine or faeces pose a contamination risk or threaten anyone’s welfare. Wietrzyk said food poisoning had caused a bacterial infection, but she had felt well when she started the race. She described the online response as “traumatic” and said she had considered leaving the sport. Wietrzyk, who holds a Hyrox world record, is due to compete in Hamburg on Friday. She said she felt “nervous” about returning and added: “I don't want it to become my identity.”