Hyrox athlete Joanna Wietrzyk admits she put others at risk by racing on after soiling herself

An Australian athlete has admitted putting others at risk by continuing to race after soiling herself during an endurance fitness event in Beijing in September. Speaking exclusively to the BBC ahead of her return to competition, Joanna Wietrzyk said her determination to win had clouded her judgement. "It was my decision to continue racing so I take full responsibility for that," the 24-year-old said. "I didn't really think about those around me... the decision that I made in hindsight was the wrong decision and I'm truly sorry for everyone that I did affect." Wietrzyk, who holds a world record in the sport, said she had suffered a bacterial infection from food poisoning but had gone into the race "feeling fresh, feeling really, really good". Roughly halfway through the event she suffered a bout of diarrhoea, and images of faecal matter on parts of her body were later shared widely online. Asked whether officials should have stopped her, she said no one had encouraged her to withdraw at the time. She was initially defiant in a now-deleted Instagram post that included the words "Go hard or go home" and "a win is a win", but apologised in the week after the Beijing event, forfeited the win and retroactively withdrew from the race. She told the BBC she had been in "flight or fight mode" while seeking hospital treatment and had not accounted for how the public would view the situation. "I needed those days to reflect on it and process it," she said. Hyrox co-founder Moritz Fürste has since issued an apology, saying it had been a mistake not to react immediately during the race. New rules now give race directors the power to remove athletes if their vomit, urine or faeces pose a risk of contamination or threaten the welfare of themselves or others, in a competition primarily held indoors using shared equipment. Hyrox China has reportedly refunded some competitors their entry fees, and the organisation said anyone sending abuse or threats to Wietrzyk would be banned from future events. Hyrox, founded in Hamburg in 2017, requires participants to alternate running a kilometre with fitness exercises including a sled push, burpee jumps, indoor rowing and lunges while carrying a sandbag. It has grown rapidly in popularity and is now held across the world. Wietrzyk described the experience and subsequent backlash as traumatic, saying the period had been "mentally and emotionally taxing" and that her family had also received threats. She said the online response had included support but had also shown social media can be a very "toxic place". "Yes, I did make the wrong decision but I don't believe I should have received such backlash and such scrutiny online... At the end of the day I'm only human," she said, adding that she had tried to stay offline and isolate herself for a time. Due to compete in Hamburg on Friday, Wietrzyk said she was nervous about her return and hoped the high-profile incident would not define her. "I don't want it to become my identity," she said. Having reflected on the past weeks, she said: "There is more to life... than just racing and just winning," and added that she still has much more to achieve in the sport and hopes her mental resilience can inspire others through what she has been through.