Joanna Wietrzyk Admits Risking Others in Beijing Hyrox Race, Apologizes Before 24-Year-Old's Return
Updated
Updated · bbc.co.uk · Oct 30
Joanna Wietrzyk Admits Risking Others in Beijing Hyrox Race, Apologizes Before 24-Year-Old's Return
3 articles · Updated · bbc.co.uk · Oct 30
Summary
Joanna Wietrzyk said she put other athletes at risk by continuing the Beijing Hyrox race after suffering diarrhoea midway through the event, calling her decision “the wrong decision” and taking full responsibility.
The 24-year-old told the BBC her judgment was clouded by a drive to win after a sudden bout of food-poisoning-related bacterial illness, and said no official told her to stop during the race.
Hyrox later apologized for not intervening immediately, introduced rules allowing race directors to remove athletes if vomit, urine or faeces create contamination risks, and Hyrox China reportedly refunded some competitors.
Wietrzyk had already forfeited the September win and withdrawn retroactively after an initially defiant social-media post, which she now says she regrets.
Ahead of her return in Hamburg on Friday, Wietrzyk said the backlash and threats toward her and her family were traumatic, and she hopes the incident will not define her career.