HIBAPRESS
Australian athlete Joanna Whitzyrec has apologized after continuing the "Hyrox" race in Beijing despite suffering from severe diarrhea during the competition, before later announcing her withdrawal from the race and forfeiting the points she earned.
Whitzyrec acknowledged that she should have stopped and left the track as soon as her health deteriorated, a move that came after a wave of criticism targeting her behavior and the way the organizers of the "Hyrox Beijing" race handled the incident.
The incident, in turn, sparked another debate, as a number of followers defended the athlete, considering that her intense focus on the competition may have led her to continue the race without fully realizing the extent of her loss of control at that moment.
Loss of bowel control during endurance sports is known as "runner's diarrhea," a problem that can occur during long-distance running, resulting from continuous movement and its effect on the digestive system, as well as other factors related to food, hydration, and physical exertion.
The incident takes on a special characteristic in "Hyrox" competitions due to the nature of the race, which combines running and fitness exercises using tracks and equipment shared by a large number of participants.
According to reports about the incident, some parts of the track had to be closed and disinfected after the incident, raising questions about the impact of continuing the competition under these conditions on the rest of the participants who use the same tracks and equipment.
Whitzyrec had indicated in her social media posts that she ate street food in Beijing before the race, in the context of discussing the problems she faced, without this meaning proof that the food was a direct cause of her condition.
Following the controversy surrounding the incident, Whitzyrec withdrew her race result, announcing her retroactive withdrawal and forfeiting the points she earned.
