Hyrox athlete who continued race while having fecal incontinence reportedly says ‘A win is a win’

The Australian athlete who won the Pro Women division at Hyrox Beijing despite suffering faecal incontinence mid-race has responded, in a post that has divided opinion further.

Joanna Wietrzyk completed the Sep. 12 race, with organisers subsequently closing off and disinfecting parts of the course.

"A win is a win"

Wietrzyk posted to Instagram Story (IGS) after footage of the race began spreading online, sparking both praise and criticism for her decision to continue.

Dimsum Daily reposted the IGS, which showed her lying on a hospital bed and pouting at the camera. She had written “A win is a win” before thanking her supporters and promising to be “back soon”.

The publication also noted that the athlete offered no explanation for what happened and did not apologise.

Divided reaction

Reactions to the matter have been mixed.

A user on X said: “Should have been instant disqualification.”

“This isn’t dedication this is disgraceful to the other competitors and the staff,” another said.

Supporters, on the other hand, have framed her decision to keep going as the kind of grit Hyrox is built around.

One user said: “Respect to Joanna Wietrzyk for not letting some incontinence slow her down. The Aussies are just born tougher, y’all.”

"Now everyone needs to stop"

Fitness YouTuber Andrew Hiller, who is also a former gym owner, argued that organisers should have halted the race the moment it happened.

He said:

"This race should have been ruined for everybody in this moment because Hyrox would have said, 'Yo, Joanna, guess what? You pooped. Now everyone needs to stop.'"

He then questioned how competitors behind Wietrzyk continued on the same lanes and equipment when Hyrox itself considered the contamination serious enough to replace the turf.

Hiller’s view is that the overwhelming share of the blame belongs to the organisers rather than the athlete.

He puts "80 to 90 per cent" of the responsibility on Hyrox, and thinks the episode will eventually produce a formal rule requiring in disqualifying defecation cases.

Comments on Hyrox’s statement

The global account of Hyrox has since addressed the incident, but it has drawn its own scrutiny.

The organiser spoke of taking responsibility for continuing to improve. However, it did not apologise to the athletes who had to keep racing on a contaminated course.

In response to the post, an Instagram user commented, "This response is trash. You should apologise to all athletes who competed in Beijing and give a firm commitment that any athlete that does this again will be immediately removed from the field of play.”

Hiller went further, setting out what he thought the organiser should have said instead.

As the organiser is responsible for maintaining a safe and sanitary competition environment, he felt that their response fell short.

He added that the statement stopped short of accepting fault, arguing that taking responsibility for continuing to improve is not the same as apologising to the athletes affected.

Most importantly, he said, Hyrox should have refunded the athletes who had been affected.

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