HYROX to change rules after Australian athlete's faecal incontinence incident

Dubai: While the hype of HYROX has always been to compete in it, the fitness event is now in the news for the wrong reasons. During the recent China event, an Australian athlete Joanna Wietrzyk was allowed to continue competing despite suffering an episode of faecal incontinence during the race.

Despite the human waste across her body, Wietrzyk was allowed to compete in the event which eventually resulted in intense drawback for HYROX. In the first statement since the incident, the organizers confirmed that they will change the flooring in the venue to protect athletes in the future.

They also defended the Aussie athlete who was scrutinized online for continuing to compete at the event. Now, HYROX co-founder Moritz Furste has also issued a statement, apologizing for the latest controversy.

“I apologise to all that were directly or indirectly affected, as well as to everyone who felt like we did not handle the situation like we should have,” Furste wrote. Apart from acknowledging their fault, the HYROX co-founder also confirmed that “new rules and procedures” will be in place for future events to prevent similar incidents.

Prior to the event in Beijing, official event rules penalised athletes for minor infractions such as spitting or littering on the course or even cleaning their nose on the floor. However, they did not have any rule in place for faecal matter.

Furste’s statement does assure that HYROX will undergo certain rule changes to tackle any such incidents in the future. Details of the new rulebook are still not clear. Their next event is scheduled for September 17-20 at Maastricht and Mumbai.