HYROX athlete who soiled herself hit with huge new blow following biohazard incident
After going viral for her rather unfortunate incident during a HYROX race, Joanna Wietrzyk's decision to continue running appears to have had significant consequences.
As has now been widely reported and shared all over social media, the Aussie athlete soiled herself while competing at HYROX Beijing on Saturday (12 September).
And it's led to a lot of online hate directed at her as well as huge criticism for HYROX, as it did not stop Wietrzyk from continuing to compete - leading to a rule change.
Instead, she was allowed to carry on with the race in the indoor space, using shared equipment and carpeted floor.
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It's been labelled as a biohazard incident with many sharing concerns for hygiene and health.
While many say frustrations shouldn't be aimed at Wietrzyk, she's been subject to trolling and on top of that, seems to have been wiped from Puma.
The record-breaking athlete is a HYROX ambassador for the sports brand and had collaborated with them on products.
But as the Daily Mail first reported, a clothing range branded 'Joanna Wietrzyk x PUMA’ has been deleted from Puma’s global online store.
All references of Wietrzyk seem to have been removed from its promotional material online.
It's worth pointing out that it's not currently confirmed how this decision was made, if it was due to timing or if it was the athlete's own request.
LADbible has contacted Puma and Wietrzyk for comment.
Previously speaking about her work with Puma, the Aussie champ called it a 'dream come true' to be an ambassador.
"I've raced in [Puma] shoes since the beginning," Wietrzyk said. "To have them support me in my journey now is truly incredible. If I told my younger self, she'd be gobsmacked."
The athlete of course was wearing Puma gear during that fateful race in Beijing and she still has the brand listed in her Instagram bio.
And in the days before the event on Saturday, she was promoting the brand's latest shoe release in the city.
Wietrzyk has not yet publicly commented on the incident since a deleted Instagram post that a 'win is a win'.
Her HYROX coach, however, has spoken out to address the backlash, echoing the event organiser's comments about not directing frustrations at athletes.
Chris Bayens called the hatred 'ugly' as he wrote: "No one is perfect, not in sport, not on social media, not in real life."
The elite HYROX coach continued: "What happened was an extraordinary set of circumstances that were unforeseen, rapidly evolving and almost impossible to fully comprehend in real time.
“Decisions were made under competition conditions by an athlete, judges and officials, all responding to a situation none of them could reasonably have prepared for.”
Bayens says hindsight allows ‘time, information and distance’ that didn’t exist for those ‘actually living it’.
“Those decisions can be reviewed and lessons can be taken from them. But judging someone's intent, character or morality through the clarity of hindsight is neither fair nor honest,” he continued.
HYROX updates rules and refunds competitors
In an email to Beijing HYROX athletes widely shared online, HYROX said they 'sincerely apologise' for the 'operational oversight' during Wietrzyk's race.
It promised a full refund for athletes running at certain times on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the HYROX rulebook has already been updated. A section now reads: "If a racer’s blood, vomit, urine, or faeces poses a welfare or contamination risk to the racer or to other racers, a Race Director may withdraw the racer from the race on medical grounds, in line with HYROX’s medical and hygiene SOPs.
"Any such withdrawal is recorded on the leaderboard as Did Not Finish [DNF]."
Topics: Social Media, Sport, Fashion, Viral
Jess Battison