Well-known ultramarathon runner Joasia Zakrzewski, 47, took third place earlier this month in a 50-mile race from Manchester Liverpool. More impressive than taking the Bronze is that at certain points Zakrzewski was zipping along at 35 miles per hour, eight miles per hour faster than Usain Bolt, the fastest human in history. It was an amazing feat until judges examined GPS data and realized Zakrzewski was riding in a friend's car for a portion of the race. From Oddity Central:
The Australian-based Scottish athlete told BBC Scotland that her woes began after flying from Australia the night before the race. She felt sick and experienced severe jetlag, but decided to take part in the ultramarathon anyway. Around the halfway mark, she began feeling serious pain in one of her legs and decided to quit the ultramarathon. It was at this point that she accepted a ride in a friend's car to a race checkpoint to inform staff that she was dropping out.
"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 the BBC. "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."
At the finish line, she accepted the medal and grinned for the cameras.
From BBC News:
Wayne Drinkwater, the director of the GB Ultras race, said after the ultramarathon he received information a runner had gained an "unsporting, competitive advantage during a section of the event".
He said: "After the event, there was no attempt by Joasia to make us aware of what had happened and to give us an opportunity to correct the results or return the third place trophy during the course of the subsequent seven days.
