WARNING: THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES

A globally run fitness race has backflipped on its stance over an Australian athlete defecating herself and continuing on with the competition.

Current world no.1 in the women’s singles division, Australian athlete Joanna Wietrzyk was competing in the HYROX Women’s Pro division, when she soiled herself during the race in Beijing.

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Images and video of Wietrzyk competing — and winning the race — with faecal matter smeared across her arms and legs has since gone viral on social media, with many pressing event organisers on why she wasn’t forced to stop.

HYROX co-founder Moritz Furste apologised to fans and Wietrzyk’s competitors for not “reacting immediately during the race”.

“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,” he said in a post to Instagram.

“In the end it is my job to foresee these potential incidents and I did not.

“Of course, we started improving event processes, plus making rulebook changes immediately.

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

“We learn and try to get better everyday.”

Aussie athlete Joanna Wietrzyk was pictured competing with faecal matter smeared across her arms and legs. Credit: Getty, Joanna Wietrzyk

The statement did little to quash public outrage, with a number of people commenting that Wietrzyk should be retroactively disqualified from the race.

One fan said the situation made it “completely unfair for any participants behind her”, while another said “every athlete following her was put at a health risk and a disadvantage”.

It comes just a day after HYROX issued a statement which instead said they were going to target social media users who were being “threatening” or even “violent” towards Wietrzyk and would ban them from future competitions.

“We recognise that this can understandably lead to frustration, questions and strong views within our community,” HYROX said.

“Those concerns are legitimate and, as organisers, we must be prepared to hear them, examine what happened and take responsibility for continuing to improve. And we will.”

“There is no place in our community for threats or violence of encouragement to harm an athlete.”

A number of fans were incensed by the statement and labeled it “horrible” as it didn’t include an apology.

“HYROX should have immediately stopped her when it happened,” one said.

“This isn’t about embarrassing or shaming someone for having an accident. Accidents happen.

“It’s about basic hygiene, sanitation, and respect for every other competitor on that course.”

Another added: “No apology to the athletes who travelled from far and wide, trained for months, and prepared for this moment only to be placed in an environment that exposed them to a sanitation hazard.”