Hyrox changes rules after athlete soiled herself in competition
FILE PHOTO: Mar 13, 2025; Virginia Beach, VA, USA; A general overall view of the Virginia Beach Sports Center, the site of the 2025 NCAA Indoor Championships. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images/File Photo
Sept 15 : Global indoor fitness race organisation Hyrox has changed its rules after women's world record holder Joanna Wietrzyk soiled herself during an event in Beijing on Saturday but was allowed to continue and win the race.
Moritz Fuerste, the German co-founder of the popular fitness-racing hybrid, apologised to everyone "directly or indirectly" affected by last weekend's incident.
"Hyrox made a mistake by not reacting immediately during the race," the former field hockey Olympic champion said in a statement on social media.
"Of course, we started improving event processes, plus making rulebook changes immediately. As of this moment, there are new rules and procedures in place to prevent situations like this from happening again."
Hamburg-based Hyrox's standardised indoor fitness race, combining running and functional workouts, has grown rapidly from a niche fitness challenge into a global phenomenon since it was founded in 2017.
