Backlash against 'toxic' and 'ego-driven' Hyrox grows after athlete is allowed to continue competing despite soiling herself - as critics say work-out sport has reached 'its lowest point'

Had it taken place in a gym, swimming facility or, in fact, almost any other indoor public space, a soiling incident would have immediately sparked a series of biohazard protocols.However, at a Hyrox fitness racing event in Beijing this weekend, both onlookers and fellow competitors looked on in horror as Australian fitness star Joanna Wietrzyk, 22, was allowed to continue to compete - and win - despite suffering major bowel incontinence.Video footage, which went viral on social media shortly after the competition took place, showed Ms Wietrzyk continuing to use shared equipment during the high-intensity challenge, despite faecal matter being visible on her arms, lower body and trainers. The incident has sparked a growing backlash against the trendy sport, which was founded in Germany just under ten years ago and involves completing eight work-outs - using equipment such as medicine balls, rowing machines and sandbags - and eight 1km runs in the quickest time possible.Critics have called the events 'toxic', 'individualistic' and 'ego-driven', saying competitors will try and win at any cost, and suggesting some are so 'obsessed' they're prepared to debase themselves for the kudos of going home with an event title. Australian fitness star Joanna Wietrzyk, 22, powered to a Hyrox victory in Beijing on the weekend despite suffering a shocking bowel incontinence during the event Fury has grown against the organisers for allowing Ms Wietrzyk to continue to compete despite her faecal matter contaminating carpets and communal apparatus at the event One person wrote on the Hyrox World Instagram page following the incident in Beijing: 'She’s a woman obsessed with a title and the physical ability to get that title, no matter what. And that is the problem.' Another critic said the incident had seen the dignity of the sport reach its 'lowest level', while one person raged: 'We are all adults, that is a biohazard, and her ego put everyone there at risk.' Ms Wietrzyk, from Melbourne, who was hospitalised after the race, clearly had no regrets about the limits she had pushed her body to. From her hospital bed in the Chinese capital she posted on social media: 'Go hard or go home they say... a win is a win.'In the aftermath of the event, a spokesperson for Hyrox said a 'major clean-up operation' had taken place in the venue where Ms Wietrzyk had competed, including the sanitising of carpets and equipment. Ms Wietrzyk, from Melbourne, posted an image to Instagram from her hospital bed after the race - remaining bullish after her winThe sport's Instagram page promotes the highly competitive nature of Hyrox, which some have branded 'toxic'. In 2026, more than 100 events took place dedicated to the fast-growing sport The brand's co-founder Moritz Fürste apologised over the incident on the Hyrox Instagram page yesterday - but has received short shrift from manyHowever yesterday, as complaints about the handling of the incident escalated online, the brand's co-founder Moritz Fürste apologised - and vowed to change the sport's rules. Mr Fürste said: 'Hyrox made a mistake by not reacting immediately during the race. In the end it is my job to foresee these potential incidents – and I did not.'The work-out event, which usually takes place indoors, has become one of the fastest growing sports globally - with up to 40,000 people turning out for events that involve non-stop racing across multiple days. The Hyrox format sees competitors alternate between a 1km run and a functional workout station, repeated eight times. The eight workout stations are 1,000m SkiErg (simulating Nordic skiing), 50m Sled Push, 50m Sled Pull, 80m Burpee Broad Jumps, 1,000m row, 200m Farmer’s Carry (walking while holding heavy kettlebells or weights), 100m Sandbag Lunges, 100 Wall Balls (squatting and throwing a medicine ball to a target).In 2026, there were more than 100 global events dedicated to the sport. While incidents of bowel and bladder incontinence aren't uncommon at outdoor endurance events such as marathons - at the 2005 London Marathon Paula Radcliffe famously relieved herself on the streets during the 26-mile race, contamination in indoor venues poses a much more serious risk to public health.