A top ultramarathon runner who was disqualified from a race because she used a car says she made a massive mistake accepting the third-place trophy..
Joasia Zakrzewski Disqualified From Marathon Race
The 47-year-old GP, who presently lives close to Sydney in Australia, let the news sources know how she had gotten derailed on the course around the midway imprint when her leg started to feel sore and she began to limp.
The aggravation turned out to be terrible to such an extent that when she saw a companion on the course and she acknowledged a lift in his vehicle to the following designated spot to tell marshals she was hauling out of the race.
Image source- BBC.com
Joasia stated that as soon as she got to the checkpoint she informed that she was choosing to pull out. However, she agreed to continue in a manner that wasn’t competitive.
She added that she made sure not to overtake the runner in front when she saw her because she didn’t want to hinder her race. She was given a medal and a wooden trophy for third place after crossing the finish line, and she also posed for pictures. The runner, who had arrived the night before from Australia, stated that accepting the trophy was a huge mistake and that she should have returned it.
She added that she was sick, tired, and jetlagged. Going on, she told that she held her hands up, and ought to have given the trophy back and not had pictures done yet sh3 was feeling unwell and scattered and not thinking plainly.
What did The Race Director Said?
According to Wayne Drinkwater, the director of the GB Ultras race, he learned after the ultramarathon that a runner had gained an unfair competitive advantage during a portion of the race.
He stated that Joasia didn’t try to tell them what had happened or gave them a chance to change the results or return the third-place trophy during the next seven days after the event. Joasia was given her trophy and finisher medal as soon as she crossed the timing mat at the finish location. Joasia never mentioned to the event team at the finish that she was not running the race competitively.
He continued that until they received information from another competitor after the race, none of the aforementioned event teams was aware, as evidenced by written statements, that Joasia had vehicle transportation.
Image source- The Guardian.com
Going on, he stated that the disqualification from the race would have been immediate at that point if they had been made aware during the race. Dr Zakrzewski said that she was an imbecile and needed to apologize to Mel and it was just miscommunication, not malicious intent.
She added that she could never deliberately cheat and this was not an objective race, however, she would rather not rationalize.
Asking for forgiveness from Mel, Joasia stated that Mel didn’t get the glory at the finish, and she was sorry she didn’t and that she was sorry because she didn’t tell the marshals at the end of the race that she wasn’t competing.
She said that what had happened had left her devastated and that she was very upset to see haters on social media pleading for a lifetime ban against her. She stated that she was devastated this has happened because she had given so much to the running world.
