Hyrox apologises, changes rules after incontinence incident at Beijing race

Hyrox has apologised and introduced new rules and procedures after organisers failed to intervene when Australian elite athlete Joanna Wietrzyk experienced bowel incontinence during a race in Beijing but continued competing and went on to win.

Footage from Saturday’s competition showed Wietrzyk continuing through the race and using shared equipment while faecal matter was visible on her legs.

The footage subsequently went viral on social media, prompting debate about hygiene and safety protocols at Hyrox events as well as the responsibilities of athletes and race officials when such incidents occur.

Launched in Germany in 2017, Hyrox has grown into an international fitness competition staged in cities around the world and made its mainland China debut in late 2024. Its race format combines endurance running with functional strength exercises.

The combination of endurance and strength makes the competition particularly demanding with participants repeatedly moving between running and high-intensity exercises.

In a statement shared on Instagram on Tuesday, Hyrox co-founder Moritz Fürste acknowledged that organisers should have intervened during the race and apologised to those affected.

“I need to address all of you directly concerning the recent events in China. I apologise to all who were directly or indirectly affected, as well as to everyone who felt like we did not handle the situation like we should have,” Fürste said.

He acknowledged that Hyrox had made a mistake by failing to act immediately.

“Hyrox made a mistake by not reacting immediately during the race. In the end it is my job to foresee these potential incidents and I did not,” he said.

Fürste said the organisation had since reviewed its processes and made changes to its rulebook to prevent a similar incident.

“Of course, we started improving event processes, plus making rulebook changes immediately. As of this moment, there are new rules and procedures in place to prevent situations like this from happening again. We learn and try to get better every day,” he said.

Hyrox China and Hyrox World also addressed the incident, saying affected lanes were isolated and underwent deep cleaning.

They said that contaminated equipment was removed and carpeting at the venue was replaced overnight before competition resumed the next day.

Before the Beijing incident, Hyrox rules already provided penalties for several hygiene-related infractions, including littering on the course and spitting or clearing one’s nose on the floor. However, there was no specific immediate protocol dealing with faecal contamination during a race.