Hyrox athlete who soiled herself during major race makes grim eight-word admission

Joanna Wietrzyk said she had been left traumatised by the backlash and has said she put others at risk while competing in the Hyrox Beijing event

Joanna Wietrzyk won a Hyrox race in September after soiling herself(Image: VCG via Getty Images)

An athlete who controversially soiled herself during a public long-distance race has admitted that she put others at risk during the event.

Joanna Wietrzyk, a 24-year-old elite athlete from Melbourne, Australia, surged to infamy in September when, while competing in the Hyrox Beijing event in China, she soiled herself during a bout of food poisoning. Ms Wietrzyk would go on to win the race covered in her own faeces, triggering outrage when, after fellow runners reportedly slipped in the liquid excrement, she declared: "Go hard or go home...a win is a win."

But despite her confident exclamation, she was left "traumatised" by the ensuing backlash, and on reflection has concluded she made "the wrong decision".

To see more of the stories you love from The Mirror and to find them easily in Google then make us your preferred source. Free and easy-to-do, just click on the link here to find more from The Mirror at the top of your feed.

Ms Wietrzyk sparked massive controversy with her decision to finish the race(Image: BBC)

Speaking to the BBC ahead of her Hyrox return, Ms Wietrzyk said her determination had clouded her judgement on race day. She told the broadcaster she was "truly sorry" after she prompted a firestorm over her move, saying: "I didn't really think about those around me…

"The decision that I made in hindsight was the wrong decision and I'm truly sorry for everyone that I did affect." Ms Wietrzyk is returning to Hyrox after massive public backlash to the incident.

Onlookers were left shocked by what happened and racers were outraged that they were exposed to it after paying to enter the race. Among them was competitor Joe Ho, who said athletes had been failed.

The athlete said she regrets continuing the race after her bout of diarrhoea(Image: VCG via Getty Images)

He said in an Instagram post following the event that athletes could suffer "physical and psychological consequences".

It ultimately forced Hyrox organisers to issue a public apology, saying in a statement that they "made a mistake" by not intervening, and vowing that rules would be changed. Hyrox co-founder Moritz Fürste said in a statement: "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 added: "As of this moment, there are new rules and procedures in place to prevent situations like this from happening again."

Joanna Wietrzyk of Australia takes part in HYROX Beijing 2026 at National Speed Skating Oval

Ms Wietrzyk said she is excited to return to Hyrox(Image: Getty Images)

While she was sorry for what happened, Ms Wietrzyk added that she had received a lot of support going back into the sport.

She told the New York Times : "I've had some time to reflect over the past six to eight weeks on everything that happened in Beijing, and firstly I just want to say that I’m truly truly so sorry to everyone that I affected whether they were spectators or participants out on that race floor for my decision to choose to continue to race.

"Having that time to reflect I've really learned a lot from the situation and I am very very sorry for it all. But I also want to say thank you to every person who has reached out to support and given me this overwhelming amount of support over the past couple of weeks.

"It's been a very hard situation to navigate for me and very confronting as well so all the support, whether it was personally or through my team has been honestly so incredible and it goes a lot longer than I can truly express right now.