A top runner was disqualified from an ultramarathon in April 2023 after using a car to cover 2.5 miles of the course
ENGLAND: A Scottish woman was disqualified from an ultramarathon in England in April 2023 after tracking data revealed she used a car during part of the race.
Joasia Zakrzewski finished third in the 50-mile event, but the race director then confirmed her disqualification, stating that she had used a vehicle during the event.
Moreover, race officials became aware of her suspiciously fast speed at certain points through data from the Strava tracking app, as reported to the BBC.
Zakrzewski issued a public apology, explaining that her actions were due to miscommunication and were “not malicious”. She also admitted that after her legs started to hurt, she got into a friend’s car with the intention of dropping out but made a “huge mistake” by accepting the third-place trophy when she crossed the finish line.
Two brothers from South Africa switched places during a race
SOUTH AFRICA: Sergio Motsoeneng and his brother Arnold confessed to cheating in the 1999 Comrades Marathon in South Africa after being accused of switching places during the race, pretending to be a single runner.
They were caught when photographs revealed they were wearing watches on different wrists and, despite their similar appearances, one brother had scars on his shin.
Their lawyer then explained that they were desperate for the prize money, which they later revealed was significantly more than their father’s annual salary. Furthermore, in an interview with Insider, they shared that they studied the marathon course map to find a spot just before the halfway point where they could switch clothes and roles inside a portable toilet.
One runner was reportedly caught taking a bus for about five miles during the race
ENGLAND: In the 2011 Kielder Marathon in England, Rob Sloan finished third, but he was soon accused of cheating after reports surfaced that he had taken a bus for part of the race.
Sloan allegedly boarded the bus about five miles from the finish line, bypassing a significant portion of the race. After riding the bus, he reportedly got off to run the final stretch and cross the finish line.
Race organisers investigated the claims, and witnesses in cars following the race reported seeing Sloan get on and off the bus during the event. Initially, the runner denied the accusations, maintaining that he did not cheat. However, after the evidence was presented, including multiple accounts from those who had seen him, Sloan admitted that he had taken the bus during the race.
A man given the “fastest pensioner” award later admitted to taking a shortcut during the race
ENGLAND: In 2019, 69-year-old Anthony Gaskell was stripped of his title after it was revealed that he had cut 10 miles off the London Marathon, finishing in three hours and five minutes. Gaskell denied claiming to have won, explaining that he had simply walked through a shortcut to reach his belongings. He stated he never intended to pass off the time as his own and had not checked the final standings because he knew he had dropped out.
Gaskell stated: “I have been called a cheat and disqualified from a race I never claimed to have won… I simply walked through a shortcut to the end of the course, where my belongings were waiting for me. I had no idea that anyone thought I’d won… I didn’t bother to check the website for the final standings because I knew I had dropped out.”
A homeless man completed the 2018 London Marathon and claimed a medal by using a lost bib from another runner
ENGLAND: Stanislaw Skupian admitted to The Sun that he entered the 2018 London Marathon by jumping a barrier at the 12-mile mark. Running without a bib, he found a lost one shortly before the finish line and decided to wear it.
Skupian stated: “I had no thoughts of the person whose number it was… I picked it up and held it to my chest as I crossed the line, I was in tears.”
A woman then awarded him a medal, congratulating him with a “well done” as he kissed it, calling it his “biggest moment ever,”
The bib belonged to Jake Halliday from Edinburgh, who had raised £48,000 for the charity. Halliday was later disqualified for losing his race number back then, as reported by The Daily Mail.