If you dookey yourself while competing in a sporting event like this woman, should you be allowed to finish, or should you be disqualified immediately?


https://nypost.com/2026/09/14/health/diarrhea-soaked-hyrox-athlete-divides-social-media/


Diarrhea-soaked Hyrox athlete divides internet over whether she should have quit
By McKenzie Beard

Published Sep. 14, 2026, 3:09 p.m. ET

It may be the stinkiest debate of the year.

A Hyrox athlete has divided the internet after losing control of her bowels mid-race and refusing to stop, raising questions about whether she should have hung up her diarrhea-splattered sneakers rather than power through to the finish line.

Joanna Wietrzyk, a 24-year-old Australian, was caught on camera running, rowing and lunging through the Beijing fitness competition over the weekend as fecal matter streamed down her legs — and somehow still managed to clinch first place.

Joanna Wietrzyk of Australia competing in HYROX Beijing 2026 at the National Speed Skating Oval, while a female official watches.
5
Athlete Joanna Wietrzyk finished in first place at a Hyrox competition in Beijing over the weekend.

“Honestly. Disqualify her and restart the race. A normal human would stop and not s–t themselves around people. Sorry you are stressed honey, so is everyone else,” one user wrote on X.

“Should be an immediate forfeit. Pretty selfish as others runners had to literally run and slip on her crap,” commented another.

That’s not an exaggeration.


Chinese officials said staff swiftly cordoned off the affected areas, disinfected the site through the end of the day, removed contaminated equipment and arranged to replace the carpet once the event was over, according to the South China Morning Post.

But the cleanup apparently couldn’t keep pace with the mess. Participants and spectators reported that poop was left smeared on equipment and across the track after Wietrzyk suffered a bout of fecal incontinence, causing several athletes to fall.

“It’s a biohazard, how they let the competition go on is beyond me,” one person wrote on Reddit.

“Not only endangered them, but it also just generally affects performance. I’d have trouble bracing me core, looking at a lady dripping s–t everywhere,” chimed in another.


“Losing control of your bowels can happen. Continuing the race while liquid feces run down your legs is another thing entirely. That’s not grit. That’s a hygiene and safety failure,” wrote an X user.

Wietrzyk, for her part, seemed to have no shame about her messy finish — at least at first. “Go hard or go home they say… a win is a win,” she wrote on Instagram, before deleting the post as backlash over her decision to remain in the race reached a fever pitch.

“How could anyone justify this? She should be penalized for her actions rather than celebrating them,” an X user wrote.

“What a s–t show,” quipped another.

The pro-poo crowd: Why some people are rooting Wietrzyk on
For some, Wietrzyk’s victory wasn’t a crappy performance — it was a demonstration of grit.

“You may think you’re a tough athlete or a tough SOB, but are you ‘I s–t myself thru an entire physical competition and still f—–g won’ tough??? Respect to Joanna Wietrzyk for not letting some incontinence slow her down. The Aussies are just born tougher, y’all,” wrote one defender.

“She achieved what she came for and won,” an Instagram user commented. “S–t happens and nothing to look down if it wasn’t intentional. We all are humans after all.”

“Why can’t we just say she s–t her pants, we all do it and move on,” asked another social media user, whose response generated its own side-eyed replies from people questioning their use of “we.”


Hyrox athlete competes despite diarrhea — using shared equipment and horrifying onlookers

Hyrox’s says: ‘Courage, resilience and refusal to give in’
On Monday, Hyrox addressed the incident, issuing a statement about what it described as the “increasingly complex situations” arising at its competitions.

“We ask our athletes to push themselves to the highest levels. At times, they will go beyond what even we thought was possible,” they wrote on Instagram.

“That courage, resilience and refusal to give in are precisely what makes elite athletes so extraordinary. Our role is to give them the right framework and the right boundaries within which they can compete, perform and express themselves at their very best.

“HYROX has clear biocontaminant and medical procedures in place. In this instance, an unforeseen situation arose in which protocols designed for elite competition and mass participation became blurred, creating ambiguity in how they were applied and understood.

Images have sparked outrage and disgust from people who described the incident as a threat to public safety.

“We recognize that this can understandably lead to frustration, questions and strong views within our community. Those concerns are legitimate and, as organizers, we must be prepared to hear them, examine what happened and take responsibility for continuing to improve. And we will.”

Hyrox co-founder Moritz Fuerste later commented on the poop-fiasco, admitting the organizers “made a mistake by not reacting immediately during the race.”

He said that the competition has “started improving event processes, plus making rulebook changes immediately.”

“As of this moment, there are new rules and procedures in place to prevent situations like this from happening again,” Fuerste wrote on Instagram.


Whatever side of the great poop debate you’re on, one thing is hard to dispute: Wietrzyk may have crossed the finish line first, but the internet has already decided on how she’ll be remembered.

“She thinks she’s winning, but the sad reality is that her legacy will forever be that of the pants s–tter rather than the winner,” an X user wrote.

Poll question: Let's settle this sports controversy with a poll

Poll result (15 votes) You should be disqualified, take yo nasty ass to shower (11 votes) Vote A win is a win (4 votes) Vote

if you're able to shit yourself and STILL come out ahead that's extra impressive

That's nasty.

lol

the reddit person has a point.

"but it also just generally affects performance. I’d have trouble bracing me core, looking at a lady dripping s–t everywhere,”

The biggest problem is that it affects other athletes. Like, I have to dodge dookey now to complete the race.

When people feel an explosive direaha coming, we want them to think, "Yeah, I am about to shit my pants; I should bail on this race." We don't want them to think it's Mario Kart and that they can drop dookey bombs behind them to spoil the race for other runners.


**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

coming around that last curve in the 10,000 meters and hit that turbo...


OR alternate take, like in the old cartoons when the cars left oil slicks. on some speed racer shit.


peace & blessings,

x.

www.twitter.com/poetx

=========================================
I'm an advocate for working smarter, not harder. If you just
focus on working hard you end up making someone else rich and
not having much to show for it. (c) mad

>If you dookey yourself while competing in a sporting event
>like this woman, should you be allowed to finish, or should
>you be disqualified immediately?

These athletes are pressured (by their team, their countries and most bizarrely by themselves) to perform not matter what.

The difference in being a winner/champion can be hundredths of a second - meaning any small slip/misstep/lack of focus can mean years of grueling work can be lost in a split second.

And you want her to stop because she shit herself?

These athletes are absolutely INSANE - why would some shit make them stop?

Think of all the abuse athletes take - pushing themselves - tearing their bodies apart, sometimes taking steroids (legal or not) and other medicines - thinking about only winning for years at a time - that's okay but some dookie isn't?


I'm all for closing down sports COMPLETELY because of the mental abuse many athletes suffer.

The NFL might not let players shit the field, but they're fine (and so are the viewers) having an incredibly high rate of brain trauma in their players? https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/49721156/study-shows-least-25-nfl-players-develop-cte

If some shit running down a leg horrifies you you might want to look a little deeper into other rampant abuse athletes suffer and address that too. (Echos of Greg Louganis.)

It's not fair for the other athletes to have to deal with your poop. That's it. Not complicated.

The sport would be fine (and even better) and fair if the rule were: if you shit yourself, you are disqualified.

Sports are not that bizarre that shitting yourself doesn't disrupt them in a bad way.


**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

So have them drink a gallon of imodium before every event?

Make people were leak proof pants that keep it completely contained?

Or when it happens pretend it's not the end of the world - maybe start a review board to determine if the athlete might have been using it as a deliberate strategy and not that it happens when you are stressing you body to the top levels?

But I think agree: Purposefuly shitting everywhere in hopes the other athletes will quit on slow down because of it should not be allowed.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7596471/2026/09/15/fecal-incontinence-athletes-why-explained/

How common is it?
More than might be expected. One 2014 study found that 30 to 90 per cent of endurance runners had experienced gastrointestinal complaints of varying severities while competing.

Bill Rodgers won four straight editions of the New York City Marathon between 1976 and 1979. “More marathons are won or lost in the porta-toilets than at the dinner table,” he famously said.

Radcliffe is the most famous example, but this year’s winner of the renowned Comrades Marathon in South Africa, George Kusche, suffered faecal incontinence during the latter stages of the 86km ultramarathon, crossing the line with diarrhoea seeping down his legs.

In the 2016 Rio Olympics, race walker Yohann Diniz experienced gut issues during the event and fainted on several occasions, but continued to finish in eighth place.

Two years ago, top U.S. triathlete Taylor Knibb was leading a race in Dubai by over two minutes when she turned and asked a camera operator on live television: “I just s*** myself. So can you not get my ass?”

It also happens in other sports — by very high-profile athletes. Former England striker Gary Lineker admitted to soiling himself against the Republic of Ireland in Cagliari during their opening game of the 1990 World Cup.

“I’d not been very well the night before, but I didn’t tell anyone because I wanted to play,” he said on the BBC’s Match of the Day podcast. “Fifteen minutes into the second half I start cramping and I think: ‘Oh Christ, I’m in a s*** load of pain here’.

“The ball goes out on their left-hand side and I kind of did a lunge at it, and as I did that I kind of relaxed and it’s just gone boof, and I’ve gone, ‘Oh my God’. I’m sat there on the ground and it’s all there.”

Elsewhere, three-time Tour de France winner LeMond blamed a bout of explosive stomach trouble on “a bad peach”. On stage two in 1986, with almost 100km still remaining, he stuffed a team cap into his shorts and defecated into it, rather than pull over and lose time to his rival Bernard Hinault. LeMond ended up winning the yellow jersey, the first ever won by an American rider, by three minutes.

Another rider, Dutchman Tom Dumoulin, was wearing the leader’s pink jersey at the 2017 Giro d’Italia when he was forced to pull over on the Umbrio Pass while leading Stage 16. His lead was cut to just 31 seconds — but like LeMond, he managed to win the race.

In Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals — known as the Flu Game — a wincing Jordan played through bouts of vomiting and diarrhoea and put up 38 points as the Bulls beat the Utah Jazz on the way to wrapping up their fifth title in seven seasons with a 4-2 series win.

In weight-lifting, urinary incontinence is extremely common amongst female participants — largely due to the strain placed on the pelvic floor muscles during heavy lifts. A 2018 study found that almost 75 per cent of elite powerlifters had experienced it during a repetition.

If you change the rules so that people who poop on the track are disqualified, the only thing that changes is that people who poop on the track are disqualified. That's it.

Pooping while running isn't necessary for or that common for long-distance running where the rule change will disrupt the event. Most people manage to run without doing it.



**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

There's way more room for contamination for a Hydrox event compared to a marathon since there's shared equipment in the Hydrox event and more importantly, folks competing in Hydrox event use their hands a lot more than folks running a marathon.

It would be gross to have to use equipment after her.

She pushed the through. She won

Im fairly confident this won't turn into a tactic used for competitive edge lol

I don't much of a difference since that's pretty much why the Hydrox event is, on a much larger scale of course.

If I'm not mistaken, part of the Hydrox event is performing burpees. Part of me is curious how this went down given what happened, but a larger part of me doesn't want that question answered.

nasty af but common

I remember a woman screaming at the cameraman to stop filming her because she had to dooky

Never heard of this but it definitely makes sense. But dont they work on this issues like 2 days before so their digestive system is optimal?


>nasty af but common
>
>I remember a woman screaming at the cameraman to stop filming
>her because she had to dooky
>
>

Bruh in a marathon most people (even elites) would use stop and use the bathroom. You can probably find a handful of instances where folks said fuck it and kept going but it's not at all a common thing

What IS common though is people peeing while biking in a triathlon

>nasty af but common
>
>I remember a woman screaming at the cameraman to stop filming
>her because she had to dooky
>
>

https://youtu.be/B_w1LTpH6cA?is=brONnjNdA-lsmO-T

second clip in the video is the one I was talking about.

“I shit myself, please don’t show my ass”

I think most casual runners would stop but competitive runners aren’t stopping. Its actually something most can’t even control because their muscles are too busy doing other shit to stop the shit from happening

It happens but it doesn't happen that often... You shit-yo-pants apologist.


**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

no one is shocked or disgusted when talking about this topic

You want to insure this doesn't happen in the future? Change the rules. Outside of that? She didn't do anything wrong.

she didn't have to quit since there wasn't a policy.

with that said, she should've left the event immediately to consider the health and safety of everyone else and herself. people were slipping and sliding coming behind her.

she's forfeited her win and apologized. lifetime of embarrassment loading.

these mfrs some savages

that's it for me for the day. i will not press on, i'm going home and hoping for a better day tomorrow.

BUUUUUUUTTTT

if I'm in a once in a lifetime type event, my decisions will have more variables to consider. I might decide differently.

I’m headed straight to the showers

is if I was on the shitter and there was a fire in the building or a mass shooter or some shit (pun intended)

even then I would give myself a courtesy wipe before getting up

I wasn’t properly prepared for poop chat.

>RE: I thought this would be about if Jordan pushed off.
>I wasn’t properly prepared for poop chat.

I was never sure how that was a debate.

I'm not even a Jordan guy like that but at full speed (and even slow mo) it's clear that while his hand was definitely touching his back, to call that a "push" is a leap IMO. Looking closely he didn't even really have his hand firmly on Russell's backside. He barely, if at all, extended his arm on the crossover. Russell was already heading to his left at full speed. Etc.

To my mind it should take a hell of a lot more than that to get a whistle, especially in that moment. But even setting aside the refs' autonomy, I don't even think it was close to a push-off/foul to begin with.

And, same as you, I don't understand why it was ever a debate lol.

this is clearly a push on the ass. it was obvious in real time and the slow confirmed how much of a push it was. you can see jordan's arm flex.

https://youtu.be/d8qXbVyVNnA?si=KuGzIyOimVN1Emmp

I don't believe in not making calls because of the moment. sure it's all subjective, but you can't just swallow the whistle because it's crutch time.

with that said, I don't recall how the calls were going in that game. maybe it was a physical game with fewer calls. if that's the case, I can see not calling. still shady though.

Check out the 2nd angle in this video and tell me you still feel the same way. He had like 2 fingers remaining on his ass by the time he started the alleged "pushoff." And as that angle especially shows and as I already mentioned above, he didn't even fully extend his arm or even move it fully in the direction of a push.

If you really think Jordan's two fingers could move Russell to that extent you must reaaaallly think Russell's a weak man lol.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Lc3miUQVxKA


>I don't believe in not making calls because of the moment. sure it's all subjective, but you can't just swallow the whistle because it's crutch time.

To be clear, I don't really believe this either. I'm of the mind that refs shouldn't impact games with ticky tack calls no *matter* the time of game. If they're not 100% sure a call should be made, they should swallow the whistle. Whether in the 1st, the 4th, or with 4 seconds left.

That would've been a ticky tack call (at best), which would've massively impacted the game and possibly the series.

you don't have to fully extend to push someone.

jordan was known to be strong af even with his thin frame. that doesn't make russell weak. angles, timing, and momentum played a role, but doesn't negate push.

I can agree about ticky tack calls. it's not fun to watch games called like that. however, they weren't going to call it, at least in part, because it was jordan.

anyway, preciate you helping turn this from a shit post lol

>anyway, preciate you helping turn this from a shit post lol

lollll for sure that was fun - the end of that game was iconic (specifically for MJ) and I always love when it comes up.

read somewhere once (this was like within past 5 years) that the password for the guest wifi at the Utah Jazz arena is: jordanpushedoff

... I heard this in a YouTube video or something like that. Very funny.

>I was never sure how that was a debate.

That was basically a touch not a push..Russels inertia was already taking him and it seemed like a push..with a hand.