HYROX announced a change to competition rules after a female world-record athlete defecated during a race in Beijing but continued competing to victory. The new rules allow officials to immediately remove athletes from competition.
The global indoor fitness competition organizer HYROX announced rule and procedure changes after Australian female athlete Joanna Viethsik, a world record holder, defecated during a race in Beijing, China last Saturday but was still allowed to continue competing and ultimately won.
Footage of the incident circulated on social media, showing Viethsik continuing the race with visible contamination on her body and using shared equipment, sparking strong criticism about hygiene standards and the organizers’ decisions.
Recently, Moritz Fürste, HYROX co-founder and former German Olympic field hockey player, apologized to all affected parties and acknowledged that HYROX erred by not intervening immediately during the competition.
Moritz Fürste stated that the organization has promptly improved competition procedures and revised the rules to prevent a similar incident from happening again.
Under the new rules, if an athlete has blood, vomit, urine, or feces posing a health or contamination risk to themselves or others, the competition director can medically remove the athlete, and the result will be recorded as DNF (Did Not Finish).
Previously, HYROX rules penalized behaviors affecting venue cleanliness, such as littering, spitting, or blowing one's nose on the floor, but there were no clear procedures for incidents involving fecal contamination during competition.
After the Beijing incident, organizers cordoned off affected areas and lanes for cleaning and disinfection, removed contaminated equipment, and replaced parts of the floor to protect other athletes' health.
HYROX was founded in 2017 in Hamburg, Germany. It is an indoor fitness competition combining running with functional exercises and has rapidly gained popularity, becoming an international event.
. Source:channelnewsasia
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