The coach of Australian HYROX athlete Joanna Wietrzyk has defended a lighthearted social media post about the controversy after she continued competing despite suffering bowel incontinence during a race in Beijing.
Chris Bayens had previously condemned what he described as “ugly” personal attacks on the 22-year-old, who won the women’s Pro race in 1:01:23. Images of Wietrzyk competing with faecal matter on her arms and legs were widely shared online.
On Wednesday, Bayens wrote on Instagram: “I had a few things on my bingo card for the 26-27 HYROX season. This was absolutely not one of them.”
After a follower questioned whether the tone was appropriate, given his earlier criticism of the abuse directed at Wietrzyk, Bayens said it was a “fair question”.
He replied that he was not making light of what happened or attempting to minimise its seriousness, but was trying to take “a slightly lighthearted view” of what had been “an absurd few days personally and professionally”.
“Being part of Joanna’s team, I’m also acutely aware of the sensitivities around the situation and much closer to the reality of it than most people commenting from the outside,” he wrote.
“I can absolutely condemn the personal attacks while still taking a lighter view of the wider circus that has developed around it.”
HYROX coach condemns personal attacks
Bayens had earlier argued that decisions made during the race should not be judged solely with hindsight, saying the athlete, judges and officials had been responding to an unforeseen situation under competition conditions.
“It is very easy to construct the perfect response once the moment has passed,” he wrote. “Hindsight gives people time, information and distance that simply did not exist for those actually living it.”
He said the decisions could be reviewed and lessons learned, but added: “Judging someone’s intent, character or morality through the clarity of hindsight is neither fair nor honest.”
“Sport occasionally produces moments that are imperfect and deeply human,” Bayens wrote. “Discussion is legitimate. The hatred and personal attacks that have followed are not.”
Wietrzyk later shared a selfie from a hospital bed, which has since been deleted, with the caption: “Go hard or go home they say … a win is a win.”
Some competitors and spectators praised her for finishing the demanding event, while others questioned the hygiene implications for athletes who used the same equipment afterwards.
Joe Ho, who also competed in Beijing, said participants had paid for a professionally organised and safe event. He argued that HYROX needed to accept responsibility for the incident and consider the possible physical and psychological consequences for those exposed to it.
HYROX introduces new welfare and contamination rules
Moritz Furste, HYROX’s co-founder and chief executive, apologised to Wietrzyk’s fellow competitors and others affected by the incident.
“Hyrox made a mistake by not reacting immediately during the race,” Furste said. “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.”
He added: “In the end it is my job to foresee these potential incidents and I did not.”
The organisation has since changed its procedures and rules. Race directors can now withdraw an athlete if blood, vomit, urine or faeces creates a welfare or contamination risk to that competitor or others.
An athlete removed under the rule will be recorded as not finishing the race.
HYROX combines running with functional workout stations. Competitors complete a 1km run before each station, repeating the sequence eight times, with activities including sled pushes, rowing, burpee broad jumps and wall balls.
Kayla Henningsen, a PhD candidate researching exercise gastroenterology and extreme physiology at Monash University, said the precise cause of Wietrzyk’s bowel incontinence could not be established without knowing her medical history, nutrition, hydration and the conditions on the day.
She said intense or prolonged exercise could reduce blood flow to the gastrointestinal tract as the body prioritised working muscles and cooling, potentially contributing to cramping, urgency, diarrhoea or involuntary bowel movements.
Dehydration, heat stress, food consumed before an event and cumulative fatigue could also contribute, Henningsen said. She described Wietrzyk’s ability to continue competing despite the physical and psychological discomfort as a notable example of the demands placed on athletes during extreme exertion.
