Australian athlete Joanna Wietrzyk has admitted to putting fellow competitors at risk during a Hyrox endurance race in Beijing after she soiled herself mid-event. Speaking exclusively to the BBC, Wietrzyk, 24, suggested her intense determination to win the September race had compromised her judgment.

"It was my decision to continue racing so I take full responsibility for that," Wietrzyk stated. "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 described the experience and the subsequent online backlash as "traumatic." She revealed that she had been suffering from a bacterial infection due to food poisoning but had felt well enough to compete. "It was a very sudden experience," she told the BBC. "It wasn't until about halfway through the race where everything did transpire... In that moment, right then and there, as a very competitive person… and an elite athlete that I am, my only focus is on racing."

The incident has prompted Hyrox's co-founder, Moritz Fürste, to issue an apology, acknowledging it was a mistake not to intervene immediately. New rules have now been implemented, empowering race directors to disqualify athletes if their bodily fluids or waste pose a contamination risk or threaten the welfare of others, particularly given the predominantly indoor nature of the competition which utilizes shared equipment.

Wietrzyk, who holds a world record in the sport, admitted that her competitive drive had overshadowed her consideration for others. "Obviously I did put other people at risk," she conceded. The Hyrox competition, founded in Hamburg in 2017, involves athletes alternating between running a kilometer and performing various fitness exercises, such as sled pushes and burpee jumps.

Following the event in Beijing, some of Wietrzyk's competitors called for an apology from Hyrox organizers. Although initially defiant in a now-deleted social media post, Wietrzyk later apologized and agreed to forfeit her win and be retroactively withdrawn from the race. She expressed nervousness about returning to competition, scheduled for an event in Hamburg on Friday.

"I don't want it to become my identity," Wietrzyk said, hoping the high-profile incident would not define her athletic career. She is set to compete again despite the significant personal and public repercussions of the event.

The incident has highlighted the challenges of managing athlete health and safety in high-stakes endurance events, leading to rule changes designed to prevent similar occurrences and protect the integrity of the competition.