Hyrox Adds Contamination Rules After Beijing Race

Co-founder Moritz Fürste apologized for Hyrox not stopping a soiled athlete mid-race, saying new rules and procedures now prevent a repeat.

Joanna Wietrzyk, a 24-year-old from Melbourne, competed in the women's 16-to-24 Hyrox event in Beijing on Saturday and experienced an involuntary bowel movement mid-race. She later said she had felt completely fit and healthy at the start, with no symptoms warning her of any illness, and that she regretted not stepping off the track. Videos and photos showed she continued through shared stations — sleds, rowers, sandbags and wall-ball pads — that other competitors still had to use.

Wietrzyk issued a public statement apologizing to 'the people of China, my fellow competitors, the spectators and the HYROX organizers,' taking responsibility for continuing to race. She announced she would retroactively withdraw from the race and forfeit the points she earned. Her finishing time of 1:01:23 would have topped her division. She said she will take time to recover and reflect, noting 'there is more to life than racing and knowing when it is right to step away.'

In a statement on Instagram he wrote, '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.' The National Speed Skating Oval had to be deep cleaned after the incident, and Hyrox publicly urged the community not to abuse Wietrzyk online, saying there is no place for threats of violence against an athlete.

The incident exposed a rulebook gap that stunned fitness-racing fans. According to TotalProSports, judges told later waves to go around the dirty section, yet nobody pulled Wietrzyk from the race — even though local coverage noted athletes could incur time penalties for minor infractions like spitting. Wietrzyk is not a fringe name: TotalProSports reports she holds the women's Pro world record at 54:25 and swept majors last season, which is why her win had been a headline result.

Hyrox is a fast-growing indoor sport launched in Hamburg in 2017 that combines running with stations like sled pushes, burpee broad jumps, wall balls and rowing. It is not yet an Olympic sport, but its backers hope it could make the Games in 2032 or 2036. A viral contamination incident at a showcase event in Beijing put that ambition under scrutiny, with fellow competitors and spectators criticizing the company for letting the race continue.

Fürste said new rules and procedures were in place 'as of this moment' to prevent a repeat. According to TotalProSports, the new provisions let a race director pull a racer if blood, vomit, urine or feces creates a contamination risk. HYROX China isolated lanes and sanitized through Saturday, and organizers said certain start times would get ticket value back as refunds. Wietrzyk, meanwhile, is stepping back from racing to recover and look after herself and her family.