Winner who pooed at HYROX finally speaks out in a lengthy, genuinely surprising message

Joanna Wietrzyk, the woman who pooed herself at HYROX and won anyway, has finally spoken out in a lengthy Instagram statement. 

Almost immediately after the scandal, Joanna posted – and then deleted – this quip on Instagram: “Go hard or go home … a win is a win. In all seriousness, thank you for all the support. I’ll be back soon x.”

At the same time, HYROX officials and athletes were defending her actions, claiming such horrible moments come with the territory of competitive sports. Sh*t happens, literally. 

Joanna has been pretty silent on the matter, and though I thought her first statement would be a defence of her actions, she actually took some accountability.

Credit: Instagram/Joanna Wietrzyk

Here’s Joanna Wietrzyk’s HYROX statement in full 

Over on Instagram, after seemingly taking a few days to let the dust somewhat settle, Joanna apologised to the entire nation of China, the people at HYROX, and her fellow competitors. 

She said: “Personal statement: I want to offer my sincere apology to the people of China, my fellow competitors, the spectators and the HYROX organisers for what happened during the race in Beijing.

“I felt completely fit and healthy at the start of the race, with no reason to expect any illness. Looking back, I regret the decision to not have stepped off the track. I recognize that I should have made a different choice. I take responsibility for my decision to continue and am deeply sorry for the discomfort and disruption it caused.”

 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Joanna Wietrzyk (@joannawietrzyk)

Most Read

Celebrities are calling out Ariana Grande’s team for ‘absolutely appalling’ petal music video

The internet never forgets: The biggest male celeb nude leaks ever, and how they responded

Love Island’s over, so here’s every 2026 couple’s relationship status and who’s already split

At this point, I thought we were going to get the typical “it happens in high-intensity sports”, or it was “unavoidable” in that setting, like some people have said. I was pleasantly surprised. 

“I know my actions had an impact beyond myself, and I am genuinely sorry to everyone who was affected. I am learning from this experience and will carry those lessons with me, including remembering that there is more to life than racing and knowing when it is right to step away. On reflection, I have decided to retroactively withdraw from the race and forfeit the points I earned,” she continued. 

“Thank you to those standing by me, both as an athlete and as a person, during this time, and to everyone who has reached out with kindness and support. It means more to me than I can properly express right now. I will be taking some time to recover, reflect and look after myself and my family away from the noise.”

Though I personally thought it was quite a good response, it seems the damage has already been done. People in the comments referenced her earlier “win is a win” comments as they bit back. 

One person said: “I thought a win is a win. Where’s the attitude now?”

“Not winning anymore aren’t ya Ms. Nutella?” someone else said. 

I’m not defending what she did at all, but what more do people want from her? She can’t go back in time and un-poo herself. 

For more like this, like The Tab on Facebook.

Featured image credit: Joanna Wietrzyk/Instagram