The Australian athlete who caused a storm by winning a Hyrox event in China despite soiling herself during the race has apologised to the “people of China” and rival athletes in a statement online.

Posting on Instagram, Joanna Wietrzyk offered a “sincere apology” to the “people of China, my fellow competitors, the spectators and the Hyrox organizers for what happened during the race in Beijing”.

Footage of Wietrzyk, a world record-holder, went viral after it showed her competing in – and winning – Saturday’s event with demanding exercises and using communal equipment, despite having faecal matter running down her legs.

But she admitted in her post on Thursday night that she should have “stepped off the track” and that there was “more to life than racing”.

“I felt completely fit and healthy at the start of the race, with no reason to expect any illness,” Wietrzyk wrote.

“Looking back, I regret the decision to not have stepped off the track. I recognise 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.”

She said she would forfeit the points from winning the event.

“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.”

Hyrox, an increasingly popular fitness competition launched in Germany in 2017, is now held in locations across the world. It made its debut in mainland China in late 2024.

In each race, participants alternate between running a kilometre and doing fitness exercises at shared high-intensity stations – including a rowing machine, sled pushes, burpee jumps, medicine ball throws and lunges while carrying a sandbag.

Hyrox earlier this week apologised and pledged immediate rule changes after Wietrzyk was allowed to finish and win the Beijing event.

Hyrox co-founder Moritz Fürste apologised in a statement on Instagram to everyone affected “directly or indirectly”.

“Hyrox made a mistake by not reacting immediately during the race. In the end it is my job to foresee these potential incidents – and I did not,” Fürste said.

He added that Hyrox had made “rulebook changes immediately”.

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

Before the weekend’s incident, event rules penalised athletes for minor infractions such as littering on the course, or spitting or clearing their nose on the floor. But they contained no immediate protocol for faecal matter.

Ending her Thursday statement, Wietrzyk said: “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.”