(CNN) Scottish ultramarathoner Joasia Zakrzewski has been disqualified from a 50-mile race after completing part of the route in a car.
Zakrzewski, who initially finished the race as the third woman, was competing in the GB Ultras from Manchester to Liverpool in northwest England on April 7 when organizers said she had gained an “unsportsmanlike competitive advantage” that would have compromised the integrity of the results .
Zakrzewski, 47, told the BBC she made a “massive mistake” in accepting the third-place trophy and “should have returned it,” adding that during the race she was “tired and jet-lagged and felt felt ill”. arrived from Australia the night before.
She said she got lost about halfway and her leg was sore, after which she accepted a ride in a friend’s car to the nearest checkpoint, according to the BBC.
“When I got to the checkpoint, I told them [race marshals] I pulled out and I was in the car and they said, ‘You’re going to hate yourself if you stop,'” Zakrzewski told the BBC, explaining how she agreed to continue “uncompetitively”.
CNN has been unable to contact Zakrzewski, a doctor who has competed internationally for Scotland and Britain. Her friend and fellow traveller, Adrian Stott, said he could not comment further on the event.
In a statement, GB Ultras Race Director Wayne Drinkwater said: “The issue has been investigated and having reviewed data from our race tracking system, GPX data, statements from our events team, other competitors and the competitor herself, we are able to do so confirm that a runner has now been disqualified from the event after requiring vehicle transport on part of the course.
Drinkwater added that a report of the disqualification has been filed with the Trail Running Association (TRA) and that the matter has now been referred to the TRA and UK Athletics as regulators.
“It wasn’t malicious”
Mel Sykes has since been awarded third place in the women’s category of the race, which she says is “great news for me” but “bad news for sportsmanship”.
Writing on Twitter, Sykes called: “No race director would want this to happen at any of their events and the team at GB Ultras have been fantastic in conducting their investigation. The 3rd place trophy will be returned to them and then mailed to me.
“The sad thing about all of this is that it completely fucks the organisers, the competitors and fair sport.”
Zakrzewski said she was “devastated” by what happened at the race and apologized to Sykes.
“It wasn’t malicious, it was a miscommunication,” she told the BBC, adding that she regretted not telling officials at the end of the event that she hadn’t run competitively.
“I would never intentionally cheat and this wasn’t a target race but I don’t want to make excuses.
“Mel didn’t get the glory at the finish and I’m really sorry she didn’t get that.”
CNN contacted the TRA but did not receive an immediate response. UK Athletics said they were aware of the incident and were likely to be managed at the level of a national governing body.