Australian athlete Joanna Wietrzyk who soiled herself during a Hyrox competition in Beijing has issued a public apology for continuing the race, forfeiting her win and the points from the event.
The 24-year-old suffered incontinence during the solo women’s event but was allowed to carry on and win. Photos and videos posted online showed Wietrzyk with soiled legs and shoes during the competition, continuing to use the mats and equipment at the competition held Saturday in the Chinese capital.
The incident led to intense public backlash as users pointed out on social media that other participants had to touch the contaminated mats, handles and running tracks after she had used them, and that the episode raised concerns about hygiene.
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Wietrzyk issued an apology on Instagram on Thursday. She said, “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.am deeply sorry for the discomfort and disruption it caused.”
Athletes offered full refund
Hyrox China has offered full refunds to competitors affected by the incident in Beijing, while the global governing body has updated its rule book to allow race directors to remove athletes if they pose a risk to the hygiene of the event.
In an email sent to competitors, Hyrox China said it would provide refunds for the value of the event ticket for athletes who competed at certain times on the same day as Wietrzyk, South China Morning Post reported.
The email also said that after the event the team completed the sanitization procedures and full turf replacement and that Hyrox had updated its emergency‑response protocol for biological‑contamination incidents.
The Hyrox athletics franchise apologised for allowing Wietrzyk to complete the event despite soiling herself midway through.
“I apologise to all that were directly or indirectly affected, as well as to everyone who felt like we did not handle the situation like we should have,” said Hyrox co-founder Moritz Furste in a statement on Monday.
“Hyrox made a mistake by not reacting immediately during the race,” he added.
He accepted responsibility for failing to foresee the incident and said there were “new rules and procedures in place” to “prevent situations like this from happening again”.
Hyrox, launched in Germany in 2018 and now held worldwide, is an indoor fitness race with a mixture of treadmill running and strength exercises, such as lunges and rowing.
[With agency inputs]
Source: Khaleej Times