An athlete who continued competing in a Hyrox event after soiling herself has apologised and said she will withdraw her victory.
Joanna Wietrzyk offered a “sincere apology” for the incident in Beijing on Saturday.
Wietrzyk said she felt “completely fit and healthy” at the start of the race and had “no reason to expect any illness”.
Despite this, she suffered from bowel incontinence in the middle of the race and continued until the end – winning the contest.
Some athletes have criticised her for not immediately stopping, saying the faecal matter was a biohazard for other competitors.
Hyrox is an indoor fitness competition, which sees racers combine one-kilometre runs with functional workouts, broken up into eight stages.
It has exploded in popularity in recent years, following on the growth of other intense combined regimes like CrossFit exercise regimes that mix cardiovascular exercise with strength training.
Hyrox has a culture of pushing to the absolute limit, which some have criticised since Saturday’s incident.
Wietrzyk said she was “deeply sorry” and said she had learned “there is more to life and racing and knowing when it is right to step away”.
She added: “On reflection, I have decided to retroactively withdraw from the race and forfeit the points I have earned.”
Hyrox has also apologised for not stopping the event when the accident happened and said it was changing its protocols so that it wouldn’t happen again.
Hyrox co-founder Moritz Fürste said the company “did not handle the situation like we should have”.
Wietrzyk also thanked people who had sent her kind messages and supported her since the accident.
She said: “It means more to me than I can properly express right now. I will be taking some time to recover, reflect and look after myself and my family away from the noise.”
After the accident, Hyrox warned people that anyone sending Wietrzyk abuse online would be banned from future events.
Wietrzyk’s Hyrox coach Chris Bayens defended her on Instagram earlier this week, saying: “The physical health and performance of an athlete is my job.
“The mental health of athletes is shaped far more by the community around them, and right now that community should take a hard look at itself.
“No one is perfect, not in sport, not on social media, not in real life. What happened was extraordinary.”
Follow STV News on WhatsApp
Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
