Ultramarathon Runner Disqualified for Using Car During Race

In a Nutshell:

• Joasia Zakrzewski, an accomplished ultramarathon runner from Australia, was stripped of her bronze medal and trophy won in a recent 50-mile race after organizers learned that she had used a car for a portion of the course.
• After analyzing GPX data, race organizers concluded that Zakrzewski had reached a speed of 35mph (56km/h) during a short section of the race, which made her faster than Usain Bolt, the fastest human in history.
• Zakrzewski admitted to making a mistake by accepting the bronze medal and trophy for finishing third, as well as smiling for photos as if nothing had happened, but she claimed that she wasn’t thinking clearly at the time, because she was tired and unwell.

Cheating scandals in sports are nothing new, but the latest case involving accomplished ultramarathon runner Joasia Zakrzewski has raised eyebrows in the running community.

The Australian athlete was recently stripped of her bronze medal and trophy for finishing third in a 50-mile race, after organizers discovered that she had used a car to cover part of the course.

Joasia Zakrzewski, a renowned ultramarathon runner from Australia, has been stripped of her bronze medal and trophy after it was revealed that she used a car to complete a portion of a recent 50-mile race.

The GB Ultras 50-mile (80km) race from Manchester to Liverpool on April 7 saw Zakrzewski finishing third, but her victory was short-lived after race organizers discovered that she had ridden in a car for a short section of the race, making her faster than Usain Bolt, the fastest human in history.

Zakrzewski had flown in from Australia the night before the race and was feeling unwell and jet-lagged. After reaching the halfway mark, she began experiencing serious leg pain and decided to quit the ultramarathon.

It was at this point that she accepted a ride in a friend’s car to inform the race staff that she was dropping out. However, upon arriving at the checkpoint, she was convinced to carry on in a non-competitive manner.

“When I got to the checkpoint I told them I was pulling out and that I had been in the car, and they said ‘you will hate yourself if you stop’,” Zakrzewski told BBC Scotland.

“I agreed to carry on in a non-competitive way. I made sure I didn’t overtake the runner in front when I saw her as I didn’t want to interfere with her race.”

Even though she agreed to carry on in a non-competitive way, Zakrzewski was disqualified and stripped of her medal and trophy after organizers analyzed her GPX data and interrogated race staff, witnesses, and the runner herself.

She had ridden in the car for about 2.5 miles and had posed for photos as if nothing had happened. She has since returned the medal and trophy and apologized to the runner whose place she claimed.

“Great news for me but really bad news for sportsmanship,” said Mel Sykes, who received Zakrzewski’s medal.

“The below happened because a fellow competitor cheated. After an investigation, she has now been DQ’d, and rightly so. How can someone who knows they have cheated cross a finish line, collect a medal/trophy, and have their photos taken!”

This is not the first time such a bizarre cheating scandal has happened in the running scene.

In 2015, a man was accused of running only the last half-mile of a 26-mile race to claim a $7,000 prize, while in 2018, experienced ultramarathon runner Kelly Agnew was accused of winning races by hiding in portable toilets.

Source: Oddity Central