Hyrox athlete sparks debate for continuing race after soiling herself

International athletics brand Hyrox has issued an apology after it came under fire for allowing an athlete to complete a race in Beijing despite soiling herself midway through the event.

Footage of the woman competing in the indoor fitness competition raised concerns around hygiene and questions over why race organisers allowed her to continue.

After a wave of criticism, Hyrox Co-founder Moritz Fürste apologised to all those affected "directly or indirectly" by the incident and said the brand is working to make immediate rule changes.

However, one expert told the BBC that allowing the athlete to continue could represent an attitude within the company that places sporting results over important factors.

In a statement posted to Instagram , external , Fürste said Hyrox "did not handle the situation like we should have".

He accepted responsibility for failing to foresee the incident and committed to "improving event processes" to "prevent situations like this from happening again".

Earlier, Hyrox said anyone sending abuse or threats of violence towards the athlete would be banned from any future events after her identity was shared online.

"There is no place in our community for threats of violence or encouragement to harm an athlete," Hyrox said in an earlier statement on Monday.

"Any person identified as engaging in this behaviour – whether through comments, direct messages or social media – will be permanently banned from all Hyrox events," it said.

Delving into how the incident played out, the German sports brand insisted it had "clear biocontaminant and medical procedures" in place.

It said "an unforeseen situation arose" during which protocols became blurred, "creating ambiguity in how they were applied and understood".

Following Saturday's event some participants had demanded an apology and a refund, arguing that they were forced to come into contact with contaminated equipment, Chinese media reported.

Joe Ho, who took part in the Hyrox Beijing competition over the weekend, criticised its response to the issue and called on the organisation to "take responsibility when its own procedures fail".

"If the organisation accepts that something went wrong, why not offer affected participants refunds, credits, or some meaningful form of compensation?" he wrote.