The 24-year-old Australian athlete who won a fitness competition in China while covered in feces has apologized and retroactively forfeited the victory, saying she regrets not dropping out.
Wietrzyk, who had previously celebrated her win, went on to say that she has chosen to “retroactively withdraw from the race” and forfeit the 110 points she was awarded in the competition. Despite the loss of her points, Wietrzyk remained at the top of the Hyrox leaderboard as of Friday, with 552 points. It is unclear if the rankings will shift based on the events of the Beijing competition.
Wietrzyk, halfway through the Hyrox competition in Beijing on Sept. 12, had suffered an incident of bowel incontinence but decided to press forward, completing the race in just over an hour and winning the event. But Wietrzyk’s decision sparked debate after images began circulating of feces dripping down her leg and on her arm while she continued to compete. Thousands of athletes competed in the event, sharing equipment and the same track, prompting some to question why HYROX didn’t remove her.
Hyrox released a statement to its Instagram account addressing the concerns, writing that “an unforeseen situation arose in which protocols designed for elite competition and mass participation became blurred, creating ambiguity in how they were applied and understood.”
The organization’s co-founder, Moritz Fuerste, later admitted on his personal Instagram account that organizers “made a mistake by not reacting immediately during the race.” He said the competition has already “started improving event processes, plus making rulebook changes immediately.”