A professional Hyrox star shot to wider international fame this week but not quite in the way she might have hoped, after she accidentally soiled herself during a competition in China – but carried on regardless and won the event.
Joanna Wietrzyk, 24, went viral after videos were shared on social media from the event she was competing in in Beijing.
Footage showed Ms Wietrzyk continuing to use shared exercise equipment to complete the high-intensity physical challenges, despite faecal matter being visible on her arms, lower body and trainers.
A respected athlete of the fast-growing sport, which involves completing eight work-outs and eight 1km runs in the quickest time possible, the Australian was taken to hospital in the Chinese capital after winning the title.
While onlookers and fellow competitors were horrified at the potential biohazard caused during the incident, the Melbourne athlete has remained apparently unfazed by her bowel incontinence.
From her hospital bed, she made it clear to her 94,000 followers on Instagram that she had no regrets about the limits she had pushed her body to, posting: ‘Go hard or go home they say… a win is a win.’
The competitor has since deleted the image and has seemingly gone to ground, turning off her comments section on personal social media accounts. Organisers have apologised for the incident, saying they should have acted quicker.
Australian ex-netballer and former national tennis player Joanna Wietrzyk powered to a Hyrox victory in Beijing, despite suffering a shocking bowel incontinence during the event
The world record holder was hospitalised following the event in Beijing but remained determined following the incident, saying: ‘Go hard or go home they say… a win is a win’
The 24-year-old, whose family comes from Warsaw, Poland, first took the Hyrox world by storm in 2024 when she ascended into its elite ranks just three months after making a start in the sport.
The Daily Mail understands Ms Wietrzyk grew up near Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula.
A talented athlete, Ms Wietrzyk was a national tennis player and netball player before taking up the fitness racing sport that’s become a favourite with Millennials and Gen Z-ers seeking a high-energy individual workout but in a ‘community’ setting.
She most recently played for the Ariels in the Victorian Netball League in 2023, before she put her netball career on pause and decided to go pro with Hyrox.
At the same time, she was also studying a Bachelor of Commerce at Deakin University and was majoring in marketing.
Now sponsored by a clutch of sporting brands, including Puma and athletic food brand The Feed, Ms Wietrzyk holds the world record for the fastest time completing the Hyrox circuit.
In Warsaw in April, the Australian recorded a time of 54 minutes and 25 seconds, breaking her own previous world record by nearly two minutes.
The organisers are facing a furious backlash for allowing Ms Wietrzyk to continue to compete despite her faecal matter contaminating carpets and communal equipment at the event
Hyrox events, which usually take place indoors, can see up to 40,000 people turning out for non-stop racing across multiple days, with more than 100 major competitions taking place globally this year.
The 24-year-old’s Instagram page is awash with photos and videos of her training ‘six to seven days a week’ and competing around the world at Hyrox events.
One video sees Ms Wietrzyk being frank about the ‘win at all costs’ mentality in the sport. In one clip, she says: ‘Times are just getting faster and faster. The field is incredibly competitive. Naturally, we just push each other to get faster out on that course.’
Another interview saw the athlete alluding to the pressure she feels to win, saying: ‘There is a target on my back, that’s what makes me race so hard but I love it.’
The Beijing event however threatens to overshadow her achievements and has left many people sharing their concerns about biohazards and the safety of Hyrox competitors and staff who had to participate on the course after her.
Cruel trolls have even targeted the world champion over comments she made about having a ‘bum shower’ while competing in Japan recently.
In a video posted to her YouTube channel just two weeks ago, Ms Wietrzyk said spoke about the wonders of Japanese toilets which are known for their high-tech fixtures.
The brand’s co-founder, Moritz Fürste, apologised over the incident on the Hyrox Instagram page yesterday – but has received short shrift from many
The 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
‘I’m honestly mind-blown, this is amazing. I need to go back to Australia and have a toilet like this in my house. I won’t video the toilet because that’s just a little too much for this vlog. But this is revolutionary,’ she said while filming her hotel room bathroom.
‘I had my first ever bum shower and this toilet seat is heated so every time my tush hits the seat, it’s all warm and cosy… like, absolutely insane, it’s wild.’
She was then seen carrying a one-kilo packet of yogurt to help her fuel up in preparation of the event, which occurred in Chiba in August.
‘The irony is insane,’ one troll commented.
In the aftermath of the event, a spokesman 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.
However 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 was founded in Germany just under ten years ago and 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.