The international indoor sports competition Hyrox apologized after an incident in Beijing where a runner was allowed to continue a race after soiling herself during the event.
Professional athlete Joanna Wietrzyk finished and won the competition on Saturday, which consists of running and high-intensity exercises. The athlete was seen on video and in photographs racing and using shared fitness equipment with feces running down her legs.
Competitors alternate between running a kilometer and performing exercises at workout stations, including sled pushes and pulls, burpees, rowing, lunges while carrying sandbags. Wietrzyk holds a world record in the Hyrox women’s solo event.
Hyrox co-founder Moritz Fürste issued a statement Sunday on social media apologizing “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,” he wrote. “In the end it is my job to foresee these potential incidents — and I did not.”
Fürste said Hyrox made changes to its rules and procedures for the event as a result of the incident, but did not elaborate on what those changes were.
“As of this moment, there are new rules and procedures in place to prevent situations like this from happening again,” he said.
In another statement on social media, the company said: “As our sport continues to evolve we are encountering new and increasingly complex situations that challenge us and where additional clarity is needed.” The statement has since been removed.
“We ask our athletes to push themselves to the highest levels. At times, they will go beyond what even we thought was possible,” the brand said. “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.”
The brand said 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.”
“We recognise that this can understandably lead to frustration, questions and strong views within our community,” the statement said. “Those concerns are legitimate and, as organisers, we must be prepared to hear them, examine what happened and take responsibility for continuing to improve.”
Hyrox did not immediately respond to requests for comment on why the post was taken down or what specific policy changes were made in response to Saturday’s race.
Wietrzyk did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
According to The Guardian, Wietrzyk posted and later deleted an image of herself to her Instagram story from what appeared to be a hospital bed, that read, “Go hard or go home … a win is a win. In all seriousness, thank you for all the support. I’ll be back soon.”
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