'Poo-ma pants': Puma removes Hyrox athlete's range after onslaught of jokes

Sports brand Puma has removed references to Australian Hyrox athlete Joanna Wietrzyk from its online store after controversy over a bowel accident during a race in Beijing.

Social media users have targeted the brand’s collaborative items with the athlete, with comments such as “Poo-ma pants” linking the brand’s name to the faecal incident at the Hyrox event.

Puma has removed the clothing range promoted as “Joanna Wietrzyk x PUMA” from its online stores.

Google search results continued to display metadata for Wietrzyk’s collection. However, the links led to an error page saying, “Sorry, products that match the selected filters were not found”.

The Daily Mail Australia reported some products remained available through a separate link but were no longer associated with Wietrzyk’s name.

It is unclear when or why the references were removed. Wietrzyk still lists Puma Training in her Instagram biography.

Hyrox athlete Joanna Wietrzyk was removed from Puma's global website after an outbreak of "Poo-ma" jokes. Photo / Getty Images

Wietrzyk, 24, previously described becoming one of Puma’s Hyrox ambassadors as “a dream come true”, according to the Daily Mail Australia.

“I’ve raced in [Puma] shoes since the beginning,” she said at the time. “To have them support me in my journey now is truly incredible.”

Wietrzyk recently helped promote Puma’s PWRMODE training collection and appeared at a shoe promotion in Beijing before the race, according to the outlet.

The Melbourne athlete won the Hyrox event despite suffering bowel incontinence and continuing to compete, prompting criticism over hygiene and the organisers’ decision not to intervene.

Melbourne athlete Joanna Wietrzyk at the Hyrox event in Beijing. Photo / Instagram

Hyrox co-founder Moritz Fuerste later apologised and admitted the organisation had made a mistake.

“Hyrox made a mistake by not reacting immediately during the race,” Fuerste said.

He said event procedures and the rulebook were changed after the incident, with new rules intended to prevent a recurrence.

Wietrzyk’s coach Chris Bayens has defended the athlete and urged people to stop the “hatred and personal attacks”.

“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,” Bayens wrote on Instagram.

“Those decisions can be reviewed and lessons can be taken from them. But judging someone’s intent, character or morality through the clarity of hindsight is neither fair nor honest.”

Wietrzyk has not publicly commented beyond a since-deleted post after the race saying, “A win is a win”.