The coach of an Aussie HYROX star who made headlines around the world after suffering a bowel accident mid-race has leapt to her defence, accusing critics of spreading ‘hatred’ while vowing to support her through the ordeal.
Joanna Wietrzyk, 24, refused to stop during the gruelling competition in Beijing on Saturday, continuing with faecal matter running down her legs as she completed burpees, lunges and wall balls.
Ms Wietrzyk’s decision to push on sparked biohazard concerns and heavy criticism online – the backlash sparking so much attention it forced HYROX co-founder Moritz Fürste to issue a personal statement addressing the incident directly.
Her coach Chris Bayens took to social media on Monday to urge the public and the HYROX community to stop the ‘hatred and personal attacks’.
‘The mental health of athletes is shaped far more by the community around them, and right now that community should take a hard look at itself,’ Mr Bayens wrote in an Instagram post.
‘No one is perfect, not in sport, not on social media, not in real life. What happened was extraordinary. The hatred that has followed is ugly.’
Mr Bayens vowed to support her through the ordeal and called on people to understand that no one was prepared for what happened and choices to continue were made on the fly.
‘Decisions were made under competition conditions by an athlete, judges and officials, all responding to a situation none of them could reasonably have prepared for,’ he claimed.
HYROX athlete Joanna Wietrzyk sparked a storm of controversy after powering to victory in Beijing while covered in her faeces
Her coach Chris Bayens has leapt to her defence, accusing critics of spreading ‘hatred’
‘It is very easy to construct the perfect response once the moment has passed. Hindsight gives people time, information and distance that simply did not exist for those actually living it.
‘Those decisions can be reviewed and lessons can be taken from them. But judging someone’s intent, character or morality through the clarity of hindsight is neither fair nor honest.’
The 24-year-old from Melbourne 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.
But the Beijing event 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.
‘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.’
Cruel trolls have now targeted her over comments she made about having a ‘bum shower’ while competing at a recent HYROX event in Japan
Ms Wietrzyk spoke about the wonders of a Japanese toilet on her Youtube channel
She then filmed herself picking up a 1 kilo packet of yoghurt to help her fuel up for the race
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.
Her coach’s comments followed hours after an unapologetic Wietrzyk posted an image to her Instagram on Tuesday while recovering from the Beijing event in hospital, saying: ‘Go hard or go home they say… a win is a win.
‘In all seriousness, thank you for all the support. I’ll be back soon.’
She then quickly deleted the image and has seemingly gone to ground, turning off her comments section on personal social media accounts and posts linked to her collaborations with some of the world’s most notable fitness brands, like Puma, Whoop and LSKD.
On Tuesday, HYROX bosses apologised for allowing the Melbourne athlete to finish the race, and pledged immediate rule changes.
Prior to the weekend’s incident, official event rules punished athletes for minor infringements such as littering on the course, or clearing their nose on the floor. There were no rules relating to faecal matter.
In a statement posted to Instagram, HYROX co-founder Moritz Furste apologised to everybody affected ‘directly or indirectly’ by Wietrzyk’s victory.
Fans have renewed calls for Joanna Wietrzyk to be disqualified from last weekend’s race
‘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,’ Furste said.
He clarified that HYROX has made ‘rulebook changes immediately’.
‘As of this moment, there are new rules and procedures in place to prevent situations like this from happening again.’
HYROX China and HYROX World confirmed that affected areas of the course were isolated for deep cleaning overnight, contaminated equipment was removed and the venue carpet was replaced before the resumption of the competition the following day.
In an interview posted just days before the infamous race, Mr Bayens described Ms Wietrzyk as the ‘most genetically gifted person’ he’s ever seen.
‘The progress she’s made aerobically, from a high level is pretty remarkable,’ he told the Hybrid Fitness Report podcast.
He also said Ms Wietrzyk had been working on her burpees in preparation of the Beijing event.
‘Being taller helps because it does help you jump a little bit further. We’ve done a lot of work on her burpees and just getting her to jump further and, you know, making her jump more economical, more efficient.’
HYROX China said affected areas and race lanes were immediately closed and isolated, then thoroughly disinfected
While it’s not known how long the pair have worked together, the Daily Mail understands Ms Wietrzyk was being coached by HYROX elite athlete James Kelly until as recently as June.
While much of the HYROX community has been up in arms over the incident, US-born Gabe Heck, who won the elite men’s round in Beijing, took a more measured stance in a post to Instagram on Monday.
‘I’m sure Joanna did not mean to provoke people with the story she posted after the race. I think we have all posted some stuff that we regret and I’m sure she probably feels the same about that story as she deleted it pretty soon after,’ he said.
‘This weekend will only be remembered for one thing… being there and witnessing it live, I have my own opinions on the whole topic and how it was handled.
‘I do not think there is any place for personal attacks or hate speech; there are glaringly obvious changes that need to be made to prevent this from happening in the future.’
The Daily Mail understands Ms Wietrzyk, whose family comes from Warsaw, Poland, grew up near Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, playing netball and tennis competitively.
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.
Australian fitness star Joanna Wietrzyk, 22, powered to a Hyrox victory in Beijing on the weekend despite suffering a shocking bowl incontinence during the event
At the same time, she was also studying a Bachelor of Commerce at Deakin University and was majoring in marketing.
The HYROX format 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).
Since the incident, Hyrox has confirmed rules would be changed to ensure a similar incident doesn’t happen again.
The Daily Mail has made multiple requests for comment to Ms Wietrzyk and her sports management agency.
