Hyrox has submitted a proposal to alter the rules to its global headquarters after the fiasco that saw a female athlete soil themselves during a race in Beijing and continue to compete.
Viral videos and photos from the meet showed Australian Joanna Wietrzyk – who currently holds the women’s Hyrox world record – finishing the event with brown liquid coating her legs.
Despite having suffered bowel incontinence during the race, Wietrzyk refused to quit, ultimately winning the event but sparking a fierce discussion online.
In the midst of the debate, Hyrox China issued a statement admitting that the current rule set does not clarify what is to be done in the event of such an incident occurring.
They revealed that the officiating team ‘had to make an on-the-spot judgment based on their experience at previous Elite15 events’ because there was nothing in the rules telling them what to do.
As such, they were unable to intervene and stop or disqualify Wietrzyk, leaving her to continue the race across shared flooring, among other competitors and spectators, despite her obvious bowel incontinence.
Reports claim that Hyrox China has now submitted a new proposal for revisions to the rule book to the organization’s global competition team.
The proposed rule changes comprise of course management, on-site intervention, event suspension, and result determination in cases that the statement terms “extreme physical distress or public health risks at competition venues”.
If the rules are thus altered, it would give officials at future world events the power to pause races or stop competitors who present health or hygiene risks.
Of course, anyone familiar with endurance sports will know that incontinence during races is not an alien concept. Marathon runners have dealt with the issue of needing the toilet – and being unable to go without harming their chances of winning the race they are in – for decades.
Yet there is a marked difference between outdoor running over a long distance and what Hyrox athletes do. In the latter, competitors share equipment, run on the same carpet, and use the same space.
As a result, the question of hygiene is one of paramount importance, and one that concerns not just Wietrzyk, but every athlete who shared the course and ran after her.
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