World3 min(s) read
Just days after going viral for having a rather messy accident during an elite fitness competition, Joanna Wietrzyk has taken another major hit to her career.
Unless you have been living under a rock, you will have seen the video of the Aussie athlete soiling herself while competing at HYROX Beijing on Saturday, September 12.
Both Wietrzyk and the German fitness company have received a barrage of hate online, mainly for allowing her to carry on with the race, which took place indoors and involved using shared equipment.
Understandably, the ordeal has since been labeled a biohazard incident over huge concerns about health and hygiene.
The athlete, whose reputation was soiled as soon as her clothes were, has also taken a massive blow to her previously promising career too.
Wietrzyk, the record-breaking athlete, was a HYROX ambassador for Puma, having collaborated with them on products such as workout clothes. However, as first reported by the Daily Mail, a clothing range branded 'Joanna Wietrzyk x PUMA’ has seemingly been deleted from Puma’s website.
Also, all promotional material of Wietrzyk appears to have been removed from its online shop.
The athlete, who will likely remain a meme for the rest of her career, was wearing full Puma gear during the memorable race and still has the brand listed in her Instagram bio.
Speaking about her work with Puma, the Aussie record holder called it a “dream come true” to be an ambassador for the brand.
Wietrzyk said: "I've raced in [Puma] shoes since the beginning.
"To have them support me in my journey now is truly incredible. If I told my younger self, she'd be gobsmacked."
Although the athlete has not publicly commented on the incident other than a now-deleted Instagram post captioned “a win is a win”, her HYROX coach Chris Bayens called the hatred “ugly” in a statement.
He wrote: "No one is perfect, not in sport, not on social media, not in real life.
"What happened was an extraordinary set of circumstances that were unforeseen, rapidly evolving, and almost impossible to fully comprehend in real time.
“Decisions were made under competition conditions by an athlete, judges, and officials, all responding to a situation none of them could reasonably have prepared for.”
