Hyrox Admits Mistake After Athlete Soils Herself and Continues Competing in Beijing

• Joanna Wietrzyk continued racing after an unexpected incident during the Beijing Hyrox event on Saturday
• The Australian athlete completed the demanding course before the handling of the incident became a major talking point
• Hyrox has now acknowledged a mistake in its response to the incident and outlined new procedures for dealing with similar situations at future races

Hyrox has admitted it made a mistake after Australian athlete Joanna Wietrzyk soiled herself during a Beijing race on Saturday, 12 September 2026, but was allowed to continue competing.

Wietrzyk suffered sudden faecal incontinence during the event and continued through the remaining stations. She ultimately won the women's Pro race in 1:01:23, according to race information cited by multiple outlets.

Videos and photographs from the event subsequently spread across Chinese social media. They showed Wietrzyk continuing to use parts of the course and shared equipment despite the incident.

That prompted questions about how officials handled the situation, particularly because Hyrox combines running with exercises performed at stations used by multiple competitors.

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Hyrox co-founder apologises over decision

Hyrox co-founder Moritz Fürste later accepted responsibility for the organisation's response.

In a statement posted on Instagram, Fürste said:

“Hyrox made a mistake by not reacting immediately during the race.”

He added: “

In the end it is my job to foresee these potential incidents — and I did not.”

Fürste also apologised “to all who were directly or indirectly involved”, while confirming that new procedures would be introduced.

Hyrox World said existing protocols had become unclear because procedures designed for elite competition and mass participation had overlapped, creating “ambiguity in how they were applied and understood”.

New rules introduced after Beijing controversy

The organisation has since changed its rules to give Race Directors clearer powers in similar situations.

Under the revised provision, an athlete may be withdrawn on medical grounds when blood, vomit, urine or faeces creates a welfare or contamination risk to the competitor or others.

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Hyrox China said it isolated and disinfected the affected area after the race, and removed contaminated equipment. The venue also replaced the carpet before further competition.

Wietrzyk's coach has defended the athlete and called for personal attacks against her to stop, while Hyrox has also warned against abuse and threats directed at the Australian competitor.

The Beijing incident has led to changes to Hyrox's procedures, with the organisation acknowledging that officials should have intervened sooner.

Hyrox’s South African event drew major attention

Briefly News also reported that Hyrox had South Africans talking in June 2026 after a financial analysis attempted to estimate how much revenue a single weekend of the fitness competition could generate.

The analysis used estimated participation and entry fees to suggest a multi-million-rand turnover, although Hyrox has not publicly confirmed its earnings from the event. Participants also highlighted additional costs, including paid event photographs.

One competitor told Briefly News that athletes receive watermarked photographs after competing and can purchase individual images for R200 or an entire set for R450.

Source: Briefly News