Australian footballers have turned Hyrox champion Joanna Wietrzyk’s mid-race bowel accident into the subject of a Mad Monday costume, wearing crop tops and brown streaks painted down their legs.
Images shared online show men dressed in black workout clothing and carrying homemade Hyrox signs, apparently referencing the Australian athlete’s ordeal during a Beijing event that drew international attention.
In one photograph, a man poses with a beer and one finger raised. He is wearing a black headband, while a handwritten sign is attached to his top.
The sign reads: ‘SPRAYGUN ON MAD MONDAY’.
A second image shows a smiling man in a bathroom beside a wet-floor warning sign. He wears a similar costume, with brown marks spread across parts of his legs.
The identities of the players and the clubs they represent have not been confirmed.
Australian footballers have created homemade Hyrox costumes that appear to mock Joanna Wietrzyk’s bowel accident during her Beijing race.
Some social media users praised the costumes, with one suggesting similar outfits could become a Halloween trend.
Another commenter endorsed the idea, writing: ‘Knew this would be coming, and absolutely here for it’.
The images received approving reactions from several social media users, including one who predicted the costume would prove popular at Halloween.
‘Someone had to do it,’ one person commented.
Another wrote: ‘$5 says there’ll be more spray bums than rayguns this Halloween.’
‘That’s gold u win the Aussie internet for today,’ a third user added.
A further comment read: ‘Knew this would be coming, and absolutely here for it.’
The costumes have added a new twist to an episode that has already led to an apology from Wietrzyk, the loss of her victory and changes to Hyrox’s competition regulations.
The Melbourne competitor continued through the Beijing race after suffering the accident, completing the exercise stations while faeces remained visible on her legs.
She finished in one hour, one minute and 23 seconds and was initially announced as the winner.
Joanna Wietrzyk apologised for carrying on after the accident and voluntarily surrendered her victory in the Beijing Hyrox race.
Hyrox acknowledged that officials should have stepped in and introduced new rules covering bodily fluids that could create a contamination risk.
However, footage showing her continuing to use shared equipment prompted criticism of both Wietrzyk’s decision to remain in the competition and the organisers’ failure to intervene.
Wietrzyk subsequently apologised and announced she would retrospectively withdraw.
‘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,’ she wrote on Instagram.
‘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.’
She acknowledged that continuing had affected others.
‘I recognise 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.’
Wietrzyk confirmed she would surrender the points earned from the race and take time away to recover.
‘I will be taking some time to recover, reflect and look after myself and my family away from the noise,’ she wrote.
Hyrox co-founder Moritz Fürste also accepted that officials should have acted.
‘Hyrox made a mistake by not reacting immediately to the incident,’ he said.
The updated rulebook allows athletes to be withdrawn on medical grounds when blood, vomit, urine or faeces pose a welfare or contamination risk to themselves or other competitors.
The sport combines eight one-kilometre runs with workout stations including rowing, sled pushes, burpee broad jumps and wall balls.
Questions about hygiene have been accompanied by concern over the personal impact of the public scrutiny.
Former professional triathlete and Ironman champion Bec Hoschke told SBS News the situation involved the wellbeing of Wietrzyk as well as the safety of those competing alongside her.
‘I can’t imagine the mental impact all of this is having on someone. I think she’s only in her early 20s as well. It’s enormously confronting for someone to have to deal with at that age.’
Wietrzyk thanked those who had offered support as she dealt with the fallout.
‘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.’