Puma Hyrox collection disappears after Beijing. The brand explains nothing

Puma has taken its Hyrox collection with Joanna Wietrzyk off its own online store. The Polish trade site PRoto.pl reported the removal on 18 September 2026. Puma gave no reason. Wietrzyk had won the elite women’s race in Beijing, then withdrew and handed her points back.

Puma stayed quiet while the Beijing video spread

Something went wrong for Wietrzyk during the elite women’s race on 12 and 13 September. She kept going and crossed the line first. Video of the moment travelled fast. Other racers began asking about hygiene on the course. Puma is her sponsor and global ambassador. It said nothing that week. PR Daily reads the silence as a decision rather than a slip.

Moritz Fürste admitted the delay on 14 September

Hyrox spoke first, and badly. Its opening note said medical protocols had “blurred”, which sounded like an excuse. A second note accepted that the concerns were fair. Then co-founder Moritz Fürste said the race should have seen this coming. He added that Hyrox had erred by not reacting at once. Wietrzyk apologised on 17 September.

Cleaning crews moved faster than the press office

Hyrox disinfected the area and changed its rules overnight. Staff fixed the physical problem in hours. The public answer took days. That gap is the whole story for anyone who buys sponsorship. A brand can do the right thing and still look slow, because people only see the statement.

Sport keeps selling this risk. UEFA put its referee kit in the hands of a workwear brand, and Poland’s Olympic body had to defend a leaked crypto sponsorship. Sponsors buy the good days and inherit the bad ones.

The opposite route also exists. Sports Direct called the UK ad regulator out of touch after a ban on its price claims. Loud is not always right. It is at least a position the brand controls.

Puma now carries two stories out of Beijing

The first story belongs to the race. The second is a collection that disappeared without a sentence. Silence did not close the questions. It moved them from Hyrox to Puma.

Open the incident clause in your own ambassador contract today. Look for two things. First, who is allowed to speak first, the brand or the athlete. Second, how many hours each side has before the other may act. If no number is written there, that call gets made in public, under a video, exactly as it was this week.