An Australian extreme fitness athlete who soiled herself during a race said she was “traumatised” by the backlash to the incident.
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she → soil → incident
Joanna Wietrzyk apologised to her fellow competitors, saying she “didn’t really think about those around me” when she became unwell during the Hyrox event in Beijing in September.
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she → apologise → September
The 24-year-old pushed on to win the event and later said she had suffered a bacterial infection from food poisoning.
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she → push → poisoning
Pictures and videos from the competition showed faeces running down Wietrzyk’s legs, on to the mats and communal equipment.
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faeces → show → mats
The athlete retroactively withdrew from the race, but organisers faced intense criticism for allowing her to continue despite the potential health risks to other competitors.
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her → withdraw → competitors
They insisted that affected lanes were deep-cleaned and contaminated equipment was removed, but Moritz Fürste, Hyrox’s co-founder, apologised and said the company made a mistake by not reacting immediately.
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company → insist → mistake
New rules have been put in place giving organisers the power to remove athletes if their bodily fluids pose a contamination risk.
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fluids → put → risk
In an interview with the BBC, Wietrzyk said the backlash she received after the incident was “traumatic”.
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she → say → incident
“Yes, I did make the wrong decision, but I don’t believe I should have received such backlash and such scrutiny online …
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I → make → backlash
At the end of the day, I’m only human,” she said.
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she → ’m → day
She added that it had been a “mentally and emotionally taxing period”, with her family also receiving threats online.
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family → add → threats
“[It] was very eye-opening for me to see the effect of social media nowadays, especially from someone who’s 24, just out there racing,” she said.
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she → open → someone
The athlete revealed she planned to return to competition but was “nervous” to do so.
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she → reveal → competition
“I don’t want it to become my identity,” she said.
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she → want → ?
Wietrzyk said that despite suffering from food poisoning she went into the race “feeling fresh, feeling really, really good”.
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she → say → race
“It was a very sudden experience,” she said.
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she → say → ?
She had completed two runs and the SkiErg, a machine that simulates skiing, and was midway through the burpee broad jumps exercise when she became unwell.
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she → complete → exercise
“It wasn’t until about halfway through the race where everything did transpire ...
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everything → transpire → race
In that moment, right then and there, as a very competitive person … and an elite athlete that I am, my only focus is on racing,” she said.
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she → say → racing
“Obviously I did put other people at risk,” she admitted.
“
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she → put → risk
It was my decision to continue racing, so I take full responsibility for that.
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I → continue → that
I didn’t really think about those around me …
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I → think → me
The decision that I made in hindsight was the wrong decision, and I’m truly sorry for everyone that I did affect.”
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I → make → that
Some athletes at the event were refunded their entry fees.
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athletes → refund → fees
In a Hyrox event, participants alternate between running a kilometre and doing high-intensity fitness exercises using shared equipment.
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participants → alternate → equipment
Wietrzyk, from Melbourne, holds the world record in the women’s solo event and was invited to compete in the elite group of the 16-24 age category.
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Wietrzyk → hold → category
She won in Beijing with a time of 1hr 1min 23sec.
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She → win → 23sec
She will compete in Hamburg, Germany, on Friday.
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She → compete → Friday
The Aporia
