A HYROX fitness competition in Beijing this past weekend produced an unusual controversy after the first-place finisher completed the race while experiencing diarrhea, prompting the event organizer to say it will review its medical and biocontaminant procedures.
Joanna Wietrzyk, a 24-year-old Australian, finished the hybrid running-and-functional-fitness race in 1 hour, 1 minute and 23 seconds, according to the New York Post. She continued competing through the incident rather than stopping.
Wietrzyk later posted on Instagram to celebrate the win, writing in a since-deleted post, “Go hard or go home they say … a win is a win. In all seriousness, thank you for all the support. I’ll be back soon x.”
The post drew criticism online, with some questioning whether it was appropriate to make light of an incident that raised hygiene and safety concerns for other competitors and race staff.
HYROX responded with a statement on Instagram acknowledging the situation and defending the athlete’s effort while pledging to examine its own procedures.
“We ask our athletes to push themselves to the highest levels. At times, they will go beyond what even we thought was possible. That courage, resilience and refusal to give in are precisely what makes elite athletes so extraordinary. Our role is to give them the right framework and the right boundaries within which they can compete, perform and express themselves at their very best,” the organization wrote.
HYROX said existing protocols were not clearly applied in this case.
“HYROX has clear biocontaminant and medical procedures in place. In this instance, an unforeseen situation arose in which protocols designed for elite competition and mass participation became blurred, creating ambiguity in how they were applied and understood,” the statement said.
The organization added that it takes community concerns seriously.
“We recognise that this can understandably lead to frustration, questions and strong views within our community. Those concerns are legitimate and, as organisers, we must be prepared to hear them, examine what happened and take responsibility for continuing to improve. And we will…”
HYROX has not announced specific changes to its rules following the Beijing event, but the statement suggests further review is underway.
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