Emily Smith
London: An Australian extreme fitness athlete who soiled herself during a race said she was โtraumatisedโ by the backlash to the incident.
Joanna Wietrzyk apologised to her fellow competitors, saying she โdidnโt really think about those around meโ when she became unwell during the Hyrox event in Beijing in September.
The 24-year-old pushed on to win the event and later said she had suffered a bacterial infection from food poisoning.
Pictures and videos from the competition showed faeces running down Wietrzykโs legs, on to the mats and communal equipment.
The athlete retroactively withdrew from the race, but organisers faced intense criticism for allowing her to continue despite the potential health risks to other competitors.
They insisted that affected lanes were deep-cleaned and contaminated equipment was removed, but Moritz Fรผrste, Hyroxโs co-founder, apologised and said the company made a mistake by not reacting immediately.
New rules have been put in place giving organisers the power to remove athletes if their bodily fluids pose a contamination risk.
In an interview with the BBC, Wietrzyk said the backlash she received after the incident was โtraumaticโ.
โYes, I did make the wrong decision, but I donโt believe I should have received such backlash and such scrutiny online โฆ At the end of the day, Iโm only human,โ she said.
She added that it had been a โmentally and emotionally taxing periodโ, with her family also receiving threats online.
โ[It] was very eye-opening for me to see the effect of social media nowadays, especially from someone whoโs 24, just out there racing,โ she said.
The athlete revealed she planned to return to competition but was โnervousโ to do so. โI donโt want it to become my identity,โ she said.
Wietrzyk said that despite suffering from food poisoning she went into the race โfeeling fresh, feeling really, really goodโ.
โIt was a very sudden experience,โ she said.
She had completed two runs and the SkiErg, a machine that simulates skiing, and was midway through the burpee broad jumps exercise when she became unwell.
โIt wasnโt until about halfway through the race where everything did transpire … In that moment, right then and there, as a very competitive person โฆ and an elite athlete that I am, my only focus is on racing,โ she said.
โObviously I did put other people at risk,โ she admitted.
โIt was my decision to continue racing, so I take full responsibility for that. I didnโt really think about those around me โฆ The decision that I made in hindsight was the wrong decision, and Iโm truly sorry for everyone that I did affect.โ
Some athletes at the event were refunded their entry fees. In a Hyrox event, participants alternate between running a kilometre and doing high-intensity fitness exercises using shared equipment.
Wietrzyk, from Melbourne, holds the world record in the womenโs solo event and was invited to compete in the elite group of the 16-24 age category. She won in Beijing with a time of 1hr 1min 23sec.
She will compete in Hamburg, Germany, on Friday.
The Telegraph, London
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