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Hyrox athlete Joanna Wietrzyk set to return to race after Beijing incident
Hyrox athlete Joanna Wietrzyk is set to return to competition in Hamburg, Germany, marking her first race since the controversial incident in Beijing.
On Instagram, Joanna said she is excited to get back to racing and doing what she loves, also apologizing anew to those affected by her decision to continue racing during the Beijing competition.
“I've had some time to reflect over the past 6 to 8 weeks on 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,” she said.
She also thanked those who reached out to support her, describing the past several weeks as a difficult and confronting time.
“Having that time to reflect, I've really learned a lot from the situation,” she said. “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.”
She ended her video by saying, “I'm here in Hamburg now. So I'm racing 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.”
The controversy stemmed from the September competition in Beijing, where Joanna soiled herself during the race but continued competing on the shared course.
The incident sparked widespread backlash, prompting Hyrox to apologize for not immediately removing the athlete from the competition and implementing stricter anti-contamination rules.
Joanna issued a formal apology and forfeited the points she earned from her first-place finish in Beijing.
Hyrox is a global indoor fitness race that combines running and functional workout stations. To complete the entire routine, participants run one kilometer, then complete one functional workout station, repeating the cycle eight times.
—Carby Rose Basina/JCB, GMA News
