Hyrox, the popular indoor fitness competition, is adjusting its policies and procedures after a world champion was allowed to continue at a competition in China last weekend despite suffering fecal incontinence.
Joanna Wietrzyk was competing in the age 16-24 elite event in Beijing on Saturday when she suddenly became ill. But despite fecal matter running down her legs, Wietrzyk was allowed to keep competing. The Australian continued on and ended up winning the race in a time of 1:01.23.
But in the days since, Hyrox has received heavy criticism for allowing Wietrzyk to continue competing despite the potential health risks. The company said that, despite having "clear biocontaminant and medical procedures in place," the situation "blurred" protocols and created "ambiguity in how they were applied and understood."
"I apologize 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," Hyrox co-founder Moritz Furste said in a statement. "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.
"Of course, we started improving event processes, plus making rulebook changes immediately. As of this moment, there are new rules and procedures in place to prevent situations like this from happening again."
#allowed
Joanna Wietrzyk was competing in the age 16-24 elite event in Beijing on Saturday when she suddenly became ill. But despite fecal matter running down her legs, Wietrzyk was allowed to keep competing. The Australian continued on and ended up winning the race in a time of 1:01.23.
But in the days since, Hyrox has received heavy criticism for allowing Wietrzyk to continue competing despite the potential health risks. The company said that, despite having "clear biocontaminant and medical procedures in place," the situation "blurred" protocols and created "ambiguity in how they were applied and understood."
"I apologize 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," Hyrox co-founder Moritz Furste said in a statement. "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.
"Of course, we started improving event processes, plus making rulebook changes immediately. As of this moment, there are new rules and procedures in place to prevent situations like this from happening again."
#allowed
2 months ago
