Hyrox introduces new hygiene rules and offers refunds after athlete soils herself during race

The fitness racing brand Hyrox has rewritten its health rules and offered mass refunds to competitors after an Australian athlete who soiled herself during a race in Beijing was allowed to continue and go on to win.

Joanna Wietrzyk, an elite racer and world record holder, suffered a sudden bowel accident on Saturday, 12 September, at Beijing's National Speed Skating Oval. Despite the obvious contamination, she kept running and completed the eight functional workout stations to secure first place. Footage of the incident quickly spread on social media, showing visible fecal matter on her legs and shoes as she moved through the shared course, triggering a fierce backlash from other competitors over hygiene.

Because Hyrox events are held indoors with hundreds of athletes sharing the same floor space, mats, and workout equipment in rapid succession, the incident raised serious safety concerns. Subsequent competitors used the exact same functional fitness stations directly after Wietrzyk had passed through them. Critics and participants immediately questioned the event's safety protocols and asked why officials did not intervene.

Wietrzyk has since apologised and announced she will forfeit her victory. In a social media post, she explained she felt perfectly healthy at the start of the race and had no warning of any impending illness. "Looking back, I regret the decision to not have stepped off the track," she wrote, adding that she took full responsibility for her decision to continue and was deeply sorry for the disruption and discomfort she caused.

The incident has put the fast-growing fitness organisation on the defensive as it attempts to expand its international footprint. Hyrox co-founder Moritz Fürste issued a public apology to everyone affected, admitting the organisation "made a mistake by not reacting immediately during the race."

To appease angry competitors—some of whom had already threatened to pull out of upcoming events in Shanghai and Sanya—Hyrox China offered full registration refunds to anyone whose race was affected. The refund applies to all athletes who were still on the course at 2:40 pm or who started their heats between 2:40 pm and 8:40 pm on the day of the event. Organisers said they isolated and disinfected the area, removed contaminated equipment, and replaced the race-course carpeting that same afternoon.

Beyond the immediate cleanup, Hyrox has codified a new policy to prevent similar incidents. Under its updated global rulebook, race directors now have the explicit authority to pull an athlete from a race on medical grounds if their blood, vomit, urine, or feces poses a contamination or welfare risk to themselves or others. Any athlete withdrawn under these rules will be marked as a "Did Not Finish" on the official leaderboard.