'Maybe it's time to retire from Hyrox': Malaysian athlete claims he was disqualified for going to toilet before Bangkok race

A Malaysian athlete who joined Hyrox Bangkok is claiming that he was disqualified for taking a toilet break before his race.

Zarif Zakaria said in a Threads post on Monday (Sept 14) that he completed the race in one hour, 27 minutes and 48 seconds but was given a disqualified status.

He competed in the Men's Open category on Aug 13, 2026, The Rakyat Post reported.

"I got DQ'ed [disqualified] for going to the toilet before the race. How come people can race while having diarrhea and not get DQ'ed?" he wrote in the post's caption.

"Maybe it's time to retire from Hyrox," he added.

Zarif was referring to Australian athlete Joanna Wietrzyk, who suffered faecal incontinence at the Hyrox Beijing race. 

She went on to finish the race and win the Pro Women division, while organisers closed off and disinfected the affected areas.

The Global Times reported that Hyrox China has offered full refunds to participants affected by the incident, specifically those still racing between 2.40pm and 8.40pm.

The organiser also apologised for its handling of the incident and said affected areas were disinfected and the race-course carpet replaced on the same day.

It is unclear whether Zarif had appealed the organiser's decision for his race.

The Rakyat Post reported that some people questioned his account and asked whether he had committed another offence that warranted a disqualification.

Zarif maintained that he had been disqualified for starting late after going to the toilet before the race.

AsiaOne has reached out to Hyrox Bangkok for comment.

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helmy.saat@asiaone.com