Overview
- An elite Hyrox athlete, Joanna Wietrzyk, suffered bowel incontinence during the Beijing event and continued through shared stations to finish first, a moment captured in viral images and videos.
- Event staff cordoned off and disinfected affected areas, removed contaminated equipment and replaced venue carpet after the incident that occurred on Saturday.
- Hyrox co‑founder Moritz Fürste publicly apologised for a delayed response and the organisation issued full refunds for waves that used the course while cleanup was underway.
- The Hyrox rulebook was updated to allow race directors to withdraw and record as DNF any competitor whose blood, vomit, urine or faeces create a welfare or contamination risk.
- The episode triggered intense public backlash, reports of a Puma product line tied to the athlete being removed from an online store, complaints from affiliates about inconsistent penalties, and threats that organisers say they will ban.