Hyrox world record holder Joanna Wietrzyk coughed during the race, was allowed to continue and win; the organizers are now apologizing and changing the rules

Joanna Wietrzyk of Australia in action during HYROX Beijing 2026 at the National Speed ​​Skating Oval on September 12, 2026 in Beijing, China. (Photo/Getty Images) Global indoor fitness event organizer Hyrox changed its rules after women’s world record holder Joanna Wietrzyk soiled herself during Saturday’s race in Beijing, but she was allowed to continue and win the race.Moritz Fuerste, Hyrox’s German co-founder and former Olympic field hockey champion, apologized for the way the incident was handled and admitted the organizers should have acted during the race.“Hyrox made a mistake by not reacting immediately during the race,” Fuerste said in a statement on social media.“Obviously, we have started to improve the event processes and in addition to making changes to the rules immediately. From this moment on, new rules and procedures are in place to prevent similar situations from happening again.”Earlier on Monday, Hyrox also said it would permanently ban anyone who sent abuse or threats of violence to Wietrzyk after her identity was shared online.“There is no place in our community for threats of violence or incitement to harm an athlete,” Hyrox said in a statement.“Any person identified with this behavior – whether through comments, direct messages or social media – will be permanently banned from all Hyrox events,” he added.Hyrox China and Hyrox World said organizers isolated the affected lanes after the race and carried out deep cleaning before competition resumed the next day. They said the contaminated equipment was removed and the carpet at the site was replaced overnight.“Following the incident, the organizing committee immediately closed and isolated the affected area and track and completed comprehensive disinfection,” organizers Hyrox China said.Hyrox World said the organization already had biocontamination and medical procedures in place, but these rules were not clearly enforced during the event.“Protocols designed for elite competition and mass participation have blurred, creating ambiguity in how they have been applied and understood.”Wietrzyk, the solo Hyrox world record holder, was invited to compete in Beijing. After the race, she posted and later deleted a selfie on her Instagram story from what appeared to be a hospital bed.“Go hard or go home… a win is a win. Sincere thanks for all the support. I’ll be back soon x.”Founded in Hamburg in 2017, Hyrox combines running with functional fitness training in a standardized indoor race format. In each event, participants alternate one-kilometer runs with exercises such as sled presses, burpees, indoor rowing and sandbag lunges.