International athletics brand Hyrox has issued an apology after it came under fire for allowing an athlete to complete a race in Beijing despite soiling herself midway through the event.
Footage of the woman competing in the indoor fitness competition raised concerns around hygiene and questions over why race organisers allowed her to continue.
After a wave of criticism, Hyrox Co-founder Moritz Fürste apologised to all those affected "directly or indirectly" by the incident and said the brand is working to make immediate rule changes.
However, one expert told the BBC that allowing the athlete to continue could represent an attitude within the company that places sporting results over important factors.
In a statement posted to Instagram, Fürste said Hyrox "did not handle the situation like we should have".
He accepted responsibility for failing to foresee the incident and committed to "improving event processes" to "prevent situations like this from happening again".
Earlier, Hyrox said anyone sending abuse or threats of violence towards the athlete would be banned from any future events after her identity was shared online.
"There is no place in our community for threats of violence or encouragement to harm an athlete," Hyrox said in an earlier statement on Monday.
"Any person identified as engaging in this behaviour – whether through comments, direct messages or social media – will be permanently banned from all Hyrox events," it said.
Delving into how the incident played out, the German sports brand insisted it had "clear biocontaminant and medical procedures" in place.
It said "an unforeseen situation arose" during which protocols became blurred, "creating ambiguity in how they were applied and understood".
Following Saturday's event some participants had demanded an apology and a refund, arguing that they were forced to come into contact with contaminated equipment, Chinese media reported.
Joe Ho, who took part in the Hyrox Beijing competition over the weekend, criticised its response to the issue and called on the organisation to "take responsibility when its own procedures fail".
"If the organisation accepts that something went wrong, why not offer affected participants refunds, credits, or some meaningful form of compensation?" he wrote.
Anthony Huang, associate professor in the Department of Sport Information and Communication at the National Taiwan University of Sport, told BBC Chinese that incidents such as these could reflect a "results-driven attitude" within the rapidly growing sports brand.
"The idea that 'a win is a win' represents a results-driven view of competition, but a mature sporting culture can't just ask whether you won - it also has to ask how you won," he said.
He added the incident raises questions over Hyrox's business model and whether commercialisation may be outpacing its ability to manage the sport.
In each Hyrox race, participants alternate between running a kilometre and doing fitness exercises, including a sled push, burpee jumps, indoor rowing, and lunges while carrying a sandbag.
The competition has exploded in popularity since it was founded in 2017 in Hamburg, Germany, and is now held across the world. The sport debuted in mainland China in late 2024.
Some have questioned why those officiating the competition in Beijing last weekend did not intervene when the athlete soiled herself, given that Hyrox penalises acts including "spitting, nostril clearing, littering, and water abuse".
Others in the fitness community have pointed out that this is not unheard of for endurance athletes.
In 2005, British marathoner Paula Radcliffe famously stopped at the 22-mile mark during the London Marathon to relieve herself by the side of the road in full view of cameras and then went on to win the race.
Speaking to the BBC at the time, Radcliffe called the incident an "embarrassing necessity" and said: "When I'm racing I'm totally focused on winning the race and running as fast as possible".
Earlier this year, Chinese marathoner Li Meizhen made headlines after crossing the finish line at the Hengshui Lake Marathon with menstrual blood on her legs.
Hyrox has expanded rapidly across China, with gyms across the country cashing in on the craze. More than 500 affiliated gyms are offering Hyrox specific training, according to the state's Xinhua news agency.
The recent Beijing race faced such fierce demand that the organisers added an extra day, turning it into a four-day event to make space for even more competitors.
