Sportswear giant PUMA has silently pulled the collaborative retail line belonging to sponsored athlete Joanna Wietrzyk from its global online store, following a viral incident in which the 22-year-old competed — and won — a HYROX race in Beijing while visibly soiled in her own faeces.
The Joanna Wietrzyk x PUMA collection, which featured performance workout clothing and footwear, has disappeared from PUMA's website without any public announcement from the brand. It remains unclear whether the removal signals a broader change to Wietrzyk's sponsorship arrangement, or is a temporary response to the intense public scrutiny the incident has generated.
What happened at the Beijing HYROX event
Wietrzyk soiled herself during the gruelling indoor endurance event on Saturday, yet was permitted to continue racing and ultimately crossed the finish line in first place. HYROX officials allowed the competition to proceed despite it becoming apparent that the athlete had experienced a gastrointestinal episode mid-race — a situation that, while distressing, is not unheard of in high-intensity endurance sport, where prolonged physical exertion can trigger severe gastrointestinal distress.
Images and video of the incident spread rapidly across social media, generating both sympathy and significant mockery. Parody content referencing both the athlete and her sponsor quickly followed, with users coining phrases such as "poo-ma pants" and sharing brand-style spoof slogans including "Sh*t happens. Keep moving" and "Focus forward. We've got your rear. Push without holding back."
HYROX apologises and rewrites its rules
In the days following the race, HYROX co-founder and CEO Moritz Furste reversed the organisation's initial position on how the situation was managed, issuing a public apology on Tuesday.
"Hyrox made a mistake by not reacting immediately during the race," Furste said. "I apologise to all that were directly or indirectly affected, as well as to everyone who felt like we did not handle the situation like we should have. In the end it is my job to foresee these potential incidents and I did not."
As a direct result of the incident, HYROX has introduced new rules allowing race directors to withdraw a competitor if blood, vomit, urine or faeces poses a welfare or contamination risk to the athlete themselves or to other competitors on the course.
Coach pushes back on online "circus"
Wietrzyk's coach, Chris Bayens, has spoken publicly about the toll the viral backlash is taking, warning of the mental health implications for the young athlete amid what he described as a social media "circus."
"Sport occasionally produces moments that are imperfect and deeply human," Bayens wrote. "Discussion is legitimate. The hatred and personal attacks that have followed are not."
What the PUMA removal means for the sponsorship
The quiet disappearance of the Joanna Wietrzyk x PUMA line from the brand's online store raises questions about the future of the partnership, though no formal statement has been made by PUMA on the matter. Whether the athlete retains her broader sponsorship deal — or whether PUMA's association with the HYROX competition itself is affected — has not yet been confirmed.
The timing is notable given how warmly Wietrzyk spoke about the partnership as recently as June. "Everyone looks at HYROX and thinks of PUMA," she said at the time. "For me, signing with PUMA and being a PUMA athlete is pretty special, knowing that I'm supported for beyond this year, for years to come. They've just signed a long-haul deal so that's pretty cool to see the evolution of what will happen with the sport and with PUMA there."
For now, both PUMA and HYROX are navigating the fallout of an incident that has captured global attention — and the full commercial consequences for the athlete and her sponsors are still unfolding.
