Hyrox founder announces 'new rules' as athlete wins despite pooping herself mid-race
The co-founder of Hyrox has issued a statement revealing 'new rules' will be implemented after an athlete claimed victory despite soiling herself during a race.
Australian champion Joanna Wietrzyk won the women’s Hyrox Pro event in Beijing over the weekend, but happened to do so with what appeared to be fecal matter down her legs.
Wietrzyk claimed victory with a time of 61 minutes and 23 seconds, but all the talk after the fitness event was about the poop incident.
A team of cleaners were given the night to scrub all contaminated areas, though many questioned why Hyrox did not remove Wietrzyk from the competition after it became apparent she had an accident.
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Now, Mo Fuerste, who founded Hyrox back in 2017 alongside Christian Toetzke, has issued a statement.
Taking to Instagram, Fuerste wrote: "I need to address all of you directly concerning the recent events in China.
"I apologise to all that were directly or indirectly affected, as well as to everyone who felt like we did not handle the situation like we should have. Hyrox made a mistake by not reacting immediately during the race."
The statement continued: "In the end it is my job to foresee these potential incidents - and I did not. Of course, we started improving event processes, plus making rulebook changes immediately.
"As of this moment, there are new rules and procedures in place to prevent situations like this from happening again.
"We learn and try to get better everyday."
Hyrox official statement
Following the race, Hyrox said in a statement that it 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," it stated in a social media post.
Sadly, a lot of criticism has headed Wietrzyk's way since the race, and Hyrox has stepped in and said that 'there is no place in our community for threats of violence'.
"Any person identified as engaging in this behavior – whether through comments, direct messages or social media – will be permanently banned from all Hyrox events," the German fitness company added.
"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."
After her victory, Wietrzyk posted a picture to Instagram of herself hooked onto a drip with the caption: "Go hard or go home … a win is a win. In all seriousness, thank you for all the support. I’ll be back soon x."
The athlete has since deleted the social media post.
Callum Jones