15 November 2023 , 20:03
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Joasia Zakrzewski has been slapped with a 12-month ban by UK Athletics for using a car in the middle of a race and then accepting a trophy.
An independent panel has announced the ban after she was accused of getting into a friend’s vehicle during the 2023 GB Ultras Manchester to Liverpool race back in April. She claimed that she had only done so after telling marshals that she had picked up an injury and was no longer competing in the race.
However, she still accepted a trophy for finishing third in the race. She had been in the car for around 2.5 miles, with GPS data showing that she completed that distance in around one minute and 40 seconds - at a top speed of 35mph.
Upon completion of the race, she then accepted a trophy for third place. Zakrzewski claimed that she had only arrived in the country from Australia the night previous and was unable to think straight.
That explanation has not been accepted by a UK Athletics disciplinary panel, who have moved to ban Zakrzewski. She will now not be eligible to compete in any licensed races and will not be able to represent Great Britain.
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The 47-year-old has also been banned from coaching or managing for a year. "The claimant had collected the trophy at the end of the race, something which she should have not done if she was completing the race on a non-competitive basis," the independent disciplinary panel said.
"She also did not seek to return the trophy in the week following the race. Even if she was suffering from brain fog on the day of the race, she had a week following the race to realise her actions and return the trophy, which she did not do.
Joasia Zakrzewski has been banned for a year by UK Athletics (Getty Images)"Finally, she posted about the race on social media, and this did not disclose that she had completed the race on a non-competitive basis."
Zakrzewski has also responded with a letter to the panel. She said: “I accept my actions on the day that I did travel in a car and then later completed the run, crossing the finish line and inappropriately receiving a medal and trophy, which I did not return immediately as I should have done”.
She continued to insist that she had made her intentions clear to marshals, something that was disputed. The marshals present claimed that while Zakrzewski had spoken to them about withdrawing, she had been persuaded to continue.
It was also noted that she had only made it known that she had gone in the car when challenged by the race organiser. “The respondent sought to defend this by claiming she was embarrassed, but ultimately she chose not to disclose what had happened rather than embarrass herself,” the panel added.