Wietrzyk apologizes and withdraws from Beijing race

Joanna Wietrzyk has published a personal statement on Instagram about what happened to her during the Hyrox race in Beijing. She writes that she felt completely fit at the start and had no reason to expect any problems, but that she regrets not leaving the course when she should have.

In her statement, she apologizes to the people of China, her fellow competitors, the audience and the Hyrox organization. She takes full responsibility for her decision to continue and acknowledges that it had an impact on others.

Wietrzyk has decided to retroactively withdraw from the race and to relinquish the points she earned. She also writes that she is taking away a lesson: that there is more to life than racing and that you need to know when it is right to stop.

The athlete says she is stepping back for a while to recover and to take care of herself and her family. View the original post on her Instagram page @joannawietrzyk.