“Go hard or go home” is what they say.
One athlete, Joanna Wiertzyk, went so hard she soiled herself while competing in the HYROX Beijing fitness race. But what happened afterward left fellow racers, organizers, and viewers dumbfounded.
This shows “the double standards of white privilege – if this woman was not white, it would have been a whole other story,” one commented online. “She needs to be banned from Asia & Hyrox.”
Joanna Wiertzyk spurred headlines for a messy bathroom mishap during the HYROX Beijing fitness race on September 12
Fitness star Joanna Wietrzyk sparked immense controversy for her performance in the HYROX race on Saturday, September 12, in Beijing.
She had a terrible bathroom mishap that occurred far from a bathroom and right in the middle of the gruelling competition.
Rather than calling it quits, the Australian athlete kept racing even after suffering sudden fecal incontinence.
HYROX is a global fitness race that combines running with functional fitness exercises.
Athletes run for nearly 5 miles (8 km) in total and stop at different workout stations at different points in the race.
At the workout stations, they perform different exercises like burpees, lunges, and wall balls.
Hyrox races are held at multiple locations throughout a calendar year and were in Beijing over the weekend.
Footage circulating online captured the HYROX elite athlete continuing to race and use fitness equipment with faecal matter on her body
Joanna, a HYROX elite athlete who won the 2026 Phoenix Major and set the women’s Pro world record of 54:25 in Warsaw, was competing in the Beijing Pro Women’s field when she suffered the embarrassing bout of fecal incontinence.
Pictures and videos circulating online captured Joanna racing and performing the exercises with fecal matter running down her legs.
The Aussie athlete seemed determined to finish what she started, but fellow competitors were not too impressed.
Some complained that parts of the course and the equipment became contaminated, thus affecting their performance.
Many, including social media users, raised concerns about hygiene and accused the organizers of not taking stricter action.
“Disgusting. This person is not a hero. She is super selfish. Not a care for any other competitor that has to follow,” one commented online
“Runners’ runs is one thing. But having the sh*ts during an indoor competition and proceeding to continue running around spreading it everywhere is vile and selfish,” one commented online.
“She must have a really thick skin!” wrote another. “Crapping yourself and all over the place, inconveniencing everyone and making them uncomfortable and still having the face to continue the race and the cheek to celebrate is for lack of a better word diabolical. Look how extensive and expensive the cleanup was.”
Others praised her performance, saying, “She is willing to push through great discomfort, which is admirable, and her choice.”
“She is a professional – so this race performance gives her income for months and years to come,” said another.
The Australian athlete broke her silence online from what appeared to be a hospital bed
Following the race, Joanna shared a selfie from what appeared to be a hospital bed with a drip attached to her hand.
“Go hard or go home they say,” she wrote on her selfie. “ … A win is a win.”
“In all seriousness, thank you for all the support,” she added. “I’ll be back soon x.”
HYROX organizers released a statement addressing the incident, saying the affected areas and lanes were sealed off and disinfected as soon as possible.
They conducted a full disinfection and also replaced some of the affected equipment, they said, noting that the entire carpet would be replaced once the competition concludes.
HYROX organizers addressed the incident, saying they would take action against those making violent threats
“We recognize that this can understandably lead to frustration, questions and strong views within our community,” the company said in a statement.
“Those concerns are legitimate and, as organizers, we must be prepared to hear them, examine what happened and take responsibility for continuing to improve,” they continued. “And we will. But there is an important line.”
The company went on to address threats being made online and urged people not to direct their frustration to the athletes, saying they are “people who put themselves on the line, compete at the highest level and make competition what it is.”
Hyrox also issued warnings, saying action will be taken against those making threats of violence.
“There is no place in our community for threats of violence or encouragement to harm an athlete,” the statement continued.
“As this has happened this weekend, we want to be very clear and direct: Any person identified as engaging in this behavior – whether through comments, direct messages or social media – will be permanently banned from all HYROX events.”
“It happened, and she would have been made fun of no matter what, so she made this failure into a win,” one commented online
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