Overview
- An elite HYROX competitor, Joanna Wietrzyk, suffered sudden faecal incontinence and kept racing to win the Women’s Pro event in Beijing on Saturday, footage from the course showed.
- HYROX China isolated affected lanes, removed contaminated equipment, carried out deep disinfection and said it replaced venue carpet overnight to protect later competitors.
- Co-founder Moritz Fürste apologised and said organisers 'made a mistake by not reacting immediately' while HYROX updated its rulebook to let a Race Director withdraw a racer and record a DNF when blood, vomit, urine or faeces pose a contamination or welfare risk.
- Viral social-media coverage produced sharp criticism and abuse toward the athlete, prompting HYROX to warn it will permanently ban anyone who issues threats and to pursue enforcement against abusive users.
- The incident has raised fresh questions about event safety, possible refunds or compensation for affected participants and whether HYROX’s new procedures will be enforced consistently at future indoor events.