Australian HYROX competitor Joanna Wietrzyk has publicly apologised after winning an endurance race in Beijing while suffering an on-course medical incident.
The 24-year-old Melbourne athlete chose not to withdraw from last Saturday’s demanding event, continuing to race despite visibly soiling herself as she pushed through to the finish and claimed victory.
Her decision to remain in the competition prompted intense backlash, with critics questioning why the event allowed her to continue under the circumstances.
In a statement released on Thursday, Wietrzyk apologised to fellow athletes and confirmed she had forfeited her victory from the Beijing event.
Writing on Instagram, she said: “I want to offer my sincere apology to the people of China, my fellow competitors, the spectators and the HYROX organizers for what happened during the race in Beijing.
“I felt completely fit and healthy at the start of the race, with no reason to expect any illness.
“Looking back, I regret the decision to not have stepped off the track. I recognize that I should have made a different choice.
“I take responsibility for my decision to continue and am deeply sorry for the discomfort and disruption it caused.”
Australian HYROX athlete Joanna Wietrzyk issued an apology on Thursday after continuing in Saturday’s competition despite soiling herself during the race.
Wietrzyk later relinquished her Beijing win and apologised to the other competitors.
Wietrzyk said she’d reflected on the incident and was ‘genuinely sorry to everyone who was affected’.
‘I am learning from this experience and will carry those lessons with me, including remembering that there is more to life than racing and knowing when it is right to step away,’ she wrote.
‘On reflection, I have decided to retroactively withdraw from the race and forfeit the points I earned.’
The Melbourne athlete then thanked those who supported her during the days of backlash following the event.
‘Thank you to those standing by me, both as an athlete and as a person, during this time, and to everyone who has reached out with kindness and support,’ Wietrzyk wrote.
‘It means more to me than I can properly express right now. I will be taking some time to recover, reflect and look after myself and my family away from the noise.’
The incident on Saturday prompted HYROX co-founder Moritz Fürste to issue a personal statement pledging to implement immediate rule changes.
Prior to the weekend’s incident, official event rules punished athletes for minor infringements such as littering on the course or clearing their nose on the floor.
Massive backlash from the incident (above) prompted HYROX co-founder Moritz Fürste to issue a personal statement pledging to implement immediate rule changes
There were no rules relating to faecal matter.
Wietrzyk’s statement drew hundreds of comments within minutes of being uploaded.
Commenters were deeply divided on whether the apology was sincere or the result of public pressure.
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‘This apology is just not good enough, not least because it has come far too late … Truly terrible sportsmanship putting your fellow athletes health at serious risk, never mind the spectators and volunteers,’ one wrote.
‘Hindsight is a wonderful thing but during that moment and time nobody knows exactly how they would have reacted,’ another said.
‘A real person would’ve apologised the same day. Not after almost a week later,’ another wrote.
‘True actions of a fighter, not many people understand the mindset of the best in the world,’ another said.
Wietrzyk turned off comments under the statement, and her other posts, within an hour of sharing it.
Wietrzyk initially made a post saying ‘a win is a win’ after the HYROX event
Commenters under the apology from Wietrzyk (above) were divided over whether it was delivered too late
The Melbourne athlete had initially shared a post following her accident declaring ‘a win is a win’ but later removed it and refused to publicly comment on the situation.
Her coach, Chris Bayens, shared a statement on Monday calling out ‘hatred and personal attacks’ on Wietrzyk.
‘The mental health of athletes is shaped far more by the community around them, and right now that community should take a hard look at itself,’ Bayens wrote.
‘No one is perfect, not in sport, not on social media, not in real life. What happened was extraordinary. The hatred that has followed is ugly.’
Bayens vowed to continue supporting her and stressed that no one was prepared for what happened and that the decision to continue was made on the fly.
‘Decisions were made under competition conditions by an athlete, judges and officials, all responding to a situation none of them could reasonably have prepared for,’ he said.
‘It is very easy to construct the perfect response once the moment has passed. Hindsight gives people time, information and distance that simply did not exist for those actually living it.
‘Those decisions can be reviewed and lessons can be taken from them. But judging someone’s intent, character or morality through the clarity of hindsight is neither fair nor honest.’
Her coach Chris Bayens has leapt to her defence, accusing critics of spreading ‘hatred’
Prior to Wietrzyk’s accident, HYROX had no rules relating to faecal matter
Bayens followed the statement with a more comical take on the situation on Wednesday, writing: ‘I had a few things on my Bingo card for the 26-27 HYROX season.
This was absolutely not one of them. I was hoping for a slightly smoother start.’
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Join the discussion
Should athletes push through no matter what, or is there a line they shouldn’t cross for competition?