The Aussie Hyrox athlete who sparked worldwide backlash for continuing to race after soiling herself during a Beijing event has revealed she’ll be returning to elite competition this week.
Joanna Wietrzyk, 24, became the target of online ridicule after the infamous September 12 event, leaving a stain on the Hyrox brand despite claiming victory.
The Melbourne athlete later withdrew from the race and forfeited all points, admitting she regretted her “decision to not have stepped off the track”.
Overnight, Wietrzyk — who is a world record holder in the women’s solo event — offered another apology to fans in a social media video set in Hamburg, confirming she’ll compete this weekend.
“So I’ve just had some time to reflect over the past six to eight weeks of everything that happened in Beijing. And firstly, I just want to say that I’m truly, truly so sorry to everyone that I affected, whether they were spectators or participants out on that race floor for my decision to choose to continue to race,” Wietrzyk said.
“And having that time to reflect, I’ve really learnt a lot from the situation. And yeah, I am very, very sorry for it all. But I also want to say thank you to each and every person that reached out for support and have given me this overwhelming amount of support over the past couple weeks.
“It’s been a very hard situation to navigate for me and very confronting as well. So all the support, whether it was personally or through my team, has been honestly so incredible.
“And it goes a lot longer in a far longer way than I can truly express right now. So thank you so much for that.
The Aussie said she was buoyed by the opportunity to return to competition and is hopeful crowds will be cheering her on.
“I’m here in Hamburg now, so I’m racing in a couple days’ time in the Elite 15. So I’m back out there on the race floor, and I’m super excited to go back doing what I love, and hopefully see you all out there,” she concluded.
Fans of Wietrzyk threw their support behind her in the comments.
“Love and respect you so much Jo,” one person said.
“One moment doesn’t define who you are or everything you’ve worked so hard for. ❤️ Your strength, dedication, and passion for this sport go far beyond any controversy,” another wrote.
Hyrox co-founder Moritz Furste also offered his support for the sport’s high-achiever.
“Jo — the future is now! Keep going,” he said.
Shortly after the events on September 12, Mr Furste apologised for the situation and lamented the fitness body’s inability to act more swiftly on the day.
He confirmed event rules and procedures would be reviewed to ensure such a farce was not repeated.
“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,” Mr Furste said in a statement.
“Hyrox made a mistake by not reacting immediately during the race.”
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