She is perhaps the most infamous female competitor of all time in an endurance sporting event. And in an interview with the BBC, Australian Joanna Wietrzyk made it clear that she regrets her decision to finish a race in Beijing after suffering severe diarrhea during the competition. “I put other people in danger,” says the 24-year-old. “I wasn’t really thinking about those around me.” She says no Hyrox race official suggested she stop competing, but she takes full responsibility for the decision to continue. “It was a bad decision and I am truly sorry to everyone I affected.”
Wietrzyk, who suffered from a bacterial infection from food poisoning, initially defended the result online before deleting the post, forfeiting victory and retroactively withdrawing. Footage of her competing with fecal matter smeared all over her legs went viral and Hyrox apologized for not intervening. As she prepares to return to racing in Germany, Wietrzyk says the harsh criticism online has been “traumatic”, but she says it’s time to come out of isolation. “Yes, I made the wrong decision, but I don’t think I should have faced such backlash and scrutiny online. … At the end of the day, I’m only human.”
Gn sports
