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HYROX Hamburg: Joanna Wietrzyk Wins on Her Return
Joanna Wietrzyk won at HYROX Hamburg, beating Lauren Weeks in her first race after a six-week break. The Australian had considered leaving the sport following online backlash over an illness-related incident in Beijing. Her return brings race-day judgement, athlete welfare and the impact of social media into focus.
By Relentless Bravery ·
HYROX Hamburg: Joanna Wietrzyk Beats Lauren Weeks by 14 Seconds
Joanna Wietrzyk won the women’s Elite 15 race at HYROX Hamburg on 30 October, finishing in 56:10 ahead of Lauren Weeks in 56:24. Vivian Tafuto completed the podium in 57:55.
The opening Elite Series race of the 2026–27 season produced a closely matched contest between the leading two women. Wietrzyk’s advantage came from gains across several stations, while Weeks delivered the faster burpee broad jumps and wall balls. Results: FORMD
Women’s Elite 15: top five
| Position | Athlete | Finish | Behind winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joanna Wietrzyk | 56:10 | — |
| 2 | Lauren Weeks | 56:24 | 0:14 |
| 3 | Vivian Tafuto | 57:55 | 1:45 |
| 4 | Lena Putters | 58:50 | 2:40 |
| 5 | Danél Louw | 59:17 | 3:07 |
The podium finishers earned invitations to the 2027 World Championships, according to The Barbell Spin’s race report. Source: The Barbell Spin
Where Wietrzyk gained her advantage
The published station splits show Wietrzyk faster on six of the eight workouts. Her largest station gain was on the farmers carry, where she recorded 1:19 against Weeks’s 1:30.
She also gained eight seconds apiece on the sled pull and rowing, seven on the sled push, six on the SkiErg and two on the sandbag lunges.
Weeks countered with the biggest individual station advantage: 2:38 for the burpee broad jumps against Wietrzyk’s 3:05, a 27-second gain. Weeks also completed the wall balls four seconds faster.
| Station | Wietrzyk | Weeks | Faster athlete |
|---|---|---|---|
| SkiErg | 4:11 | 4:17 | Wietrzyk by 6 sec |
| Sled push | 2:15 | 2:22 | Wietrzyk by 7 sec |
| Sled pull | 3:12 | 3:20 | Wietrzyk by 8 sec |
| Burpee broad jumps | 3:05 | 2:38 | Weeks by 27 sec |
| Rowing | 4:10 | 4:18 | Wietrzyk by 8 sec |
| Farmers carry | 1:19 | 1:30 | Wietrzyk by 11 sec |
| Sandbag lunges | 3:20 | 3:22 | Wietrzyk by 2 sec |
| Wall balls | 3:14 | 3:10 | Weeks by 4 sec |
Split sources: Wietrzyk’s results and Weeks’s results, published by Roxpace.
Running was closely matched
Adding the eight published running splits gives 31:32 for Wietrzyk and 31:36 for Weeks, a difference of just four seconds.
The largest separation came on run three: Wietrzyk recorded 3:52, compared with Weeks’s 4:06. Weeks was faster on five of the other seven runs, with one tied, but those smaller gains did not fully offset that difference.
The station totals were similarly close: 24:46 for Wietrzyk and 24:57 for Weeks. Together, the published running and workout splits suggest a victory built through accumulated gains rather than one dominant discipline.
These calculations require a qualification. The listed splits total 56:18 for Wietrzyk and 56:33 for Weeks, exceeding their recorded finishes by eight and nine seconds respectively. The available data does not explain that discrepancy, so it should not be used to reconstruct exact checkpoint leads or assign a separate transition-time advantage.
A winning return
Hamburg was Wietrzyk’s first race back after a break following September’s Beijing event, where she experienced illness during competition and subsequently relinquished her result. ABC reported that she had considered leaving the sport during the difficult period that followed. Source: ABC News
Her return ended with victory, but Hamburg also demonstrated how closely Weeks could challenge her. Wietrzyk’s gains across six stations proved enough to withstand Weeks’s substantial burpee advantage and faster wall-ball split, securing the season opener by 14 seconds.
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