HYROX says it will adjust its rules following a hygiene incident during the HYROX Beijing race weekend. After yesterday’s series of events, Hybrid Fitness Media asked HYROX Co-Founder Christian Toetzke how future events like this could be handled and whether rule changes were being considered.
“Very unfortunate situation and we will adjust the rules, as no one was thinking about such a situation/incident,” Toetzke told Hybrid Fitness Media.
The response follows an incident involving athlete Joanna Wietrzyk during the race. Photos and videos from the venue circulated on the Chinese app RedNote, with a later video showing staff replacing a section of carpet. HYROX China issued a statement on September 12 addressing concerns about venue hygiene and replacing the carpet.
HYROX later issued a global statement on its Instagram page the following day saying it has “clear biocontaminant and medical procedures in place.” It said the Beijing incident was an unforeseen situation in which “protocols designed for elite competition and mass participation became blurred, creating ambiguity in how they were applied and understood.”
The company said it recognizes the incident has led to frustration, questions and strong views within the community, and that it will examine what happened and continue to improve.
HYROX also addressed threats directed at athletes following the incident. It said anyone identified as making threats of violence or encouraging harm through comments, direct messages or social media will be permanently banned from all HYROX events.
HYROX has not specified the exact rule changes it intends to make following the Beijing incident.
What a tough situatuion. You covered it with class and respect. Keep up the great work. I love your content.
If I was at that event I would gladly sacrifice my shirt so she could clean up. The rulebook probably sees that as outside assistance though, so a DQ right?
The elites need to string together 5 results, so JW really needs to post big points despite the situation. There’s no way an elite could accept posting a zero, whether from DQ or DNF. What a tough position for JW.
Sure, “elite competition and mass participation” became blurred. But I would add that this is dubious even in elite competition – is it fair for the elite athletes behind her to be sitting, running, and doing BBJ on sh*t? Wouldn’t that have an impact on them? The pictures are really graphic, it’s not just a little
I can understand why JW decided to continue. In that moment, the results outweighed other values, including consideration for others and dignity for herself. It was a momentary lapse of judgment on her part, which was then magnified by the organisers’ failure