“A Win Is A Win”: Aussie Athlete Who Pooped Herself Mid-Race At Hyrox Beijing — And Eventually Won — Responds

What do you do when you go viral for pooping yourself during a Hyrox race? For Australian Hyrox athlete Joanna Wietrzyk, she came out and owned it, and said: "A win is a win."

Well, at least for a little while. 

If you were lucky enough not to come across the unsavoury clips of what happened at Hyrox Beijing on Saturday (Sep 12), here's a quick rundown. Joanna, 22, was taking part in the Women's Pro event when she suffered bowel incontinence. Despite defacating mid-race, she continued competing with fecal matter visible on her leg in clips circulating online. She went on to win the race in the category in 1:01:23.

"Go hard or go home they say... a win is a win," Joanna responded. However, she has since deleted her Instagram Story.

She later added: "In all seriousness, thank you for all the support. I'll be back soon."

Not everyone was impressed by her response. People were concerned that despite defecating, she continued racing afterwards. Videos circulating online showed Joanna continuing through multiple stations with faecal matter visible on her legs.

Some competitors reportedly complained that parts of the course became slippery. 

Hyrox athlete Benjamin Amsallem didn't mince his words. "No respect for other people," he commented.

Another athlete, Isaiah King, argued that Joanna should have stopped to clean herself up before continuing.

"Hyrox absolutely has bathrooms, and you can pick up where you left off, hence the ankle bracelets. I don't care if you're winning or what, if you poop yourself, you may not need to be [disqualified], but you sure need to take that break,” he said.

Suffice to say, Joanna's "a win is a win" comment hasn't won everyone over.

Others similarly stressed that their main concern was the shared equipment.

"I respect that she finished the competition. However, other athletes have to use the same equipment after her," said a Redditor.

The commenter also questioned why athletes are slapped with penalties for spitting, vomiting and throwing water bottles during a Hyrox race, while Joanna was allowed to continue competing in this instance.

"This is no longer about sportsmanship or competition. This is a public health issue," they wrote.

Another commenter made a rather different point.

"This lady is so fast she literally could take a restroom break, come back and still win, and I'm not even exaggerating," they wrote.

They're not kidding. Joanna is no casual competitor -- she holds the Hyrox women's solo world record, having clocked 54:25 in Warsaw in April.

Race organisers reportedly isolated and disinfected affected areas after the incident, while contaminated equipment and waste were disposed of in accordance with regulations.

The carpet was also replaced, and the venue underwent a full deep-clean after the event.

But others felt that race organisers could have done better by stepping in from the start.

"Why didn't they stop her, and instead allowed her to continue?" one asked.