😲 She has become a target for criticism/mockery – including from Jimmy Fallon.
Scottish Ultra-Marathon Runner Blames Injury And Jetlag For Using Car In Race
Joasia Zakrzewski disqualified after 50-mile race
‘I made a massive error accepting the trophy’
A top Scottish ultra-marathon runner who was disqualified for using a car during a race has blamed an injury and jetlag for her decision to break the rules and then accept a trophy for third place.
Joasia Zakrzewski is facing calls for a life ban after being disqualified from the 2023 GB Ultras Manchester to Liverpool 50-mile race on 7 April, after it was later discovered she had travelled by car for about 2.5 miles.
However the 47-year-old from Dumfries told BBC Scotland that her behaviour had not been malicious – and that she had only got in a friend’s car because she had been limping and wanted to tell marshals that she was withdrawing. GPS data later showed the car covered one of those miles in one minute and 40 seconds.
“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’,” Dr Zakrzewski said. “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.”
Zakrzewski, who finished 14th in the 2014 Commonwealth Games marathon and has set records in the UK over 100 and 200 miles, admitted she was wrong to pose for pictures and to accept a wooden trophy and medal when she crossed the line.
However she claimed that arriving from Australia the night before had left her jetlagged and unable to think straight. “I made a massive error accepting the trophy and should have handed it back,” she said. “I was tired and jetlagged and felt sick. I hold my hands up, I should have handed them back and not had pictures done but I was feeling unwell and spaced out and not thinking clearly.”
Wayne Drinkwater, the director of the GB Ultras race, confirmed that Zakrzewski had been disqualified “having taken vehicle transport during part of the route”.
“The matter is now with the Trail Running Association and, in turn, UK Athletics as the regulatory bodies,” he added.
Yet despite widespread anger in the ultrarunning community, the Guardian has learned that Zakrzewski may yet escape further sanction as UK Athletics and Scottish Athletics are yet to agree on who has jurisdiction over her disciplinary case given she is no longer an elite funded athlete.
In the middle of his appearance on TV, Macron realized that he was wearing a watch worth 80,000 euros, so he quickly decided to take it off without anyone noticing…
👉 The other ‘Emmanuel is Music Manager who was stabbed to death for a FAKE Patek
Emmanuel Odunlami, 32, was out celebrating his 32nd birthday when a security guard allegedly told assailants he was wearing a £300,000 Patek Philippe watch.
Posted by addisethiopia / አዲስ ኢትዮጵያ on July 7, 2021
💭 Allan Rock is President Emeritus of the University of Ottawa, and a Professor in its Faculty of Law, where he teaches International Humanitarian Law and Armed Conflict in International Law.
He practised in civil, administrative and commercial litigation for 20 years (1973-93) with a national law firm in Toronto, appearing as counsel in a wide variety of cases before courts at all levels, including the Supreme Court of Canada. He was inducted in 1988 as a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. He is a former Treasurer (President) of the Law Society of Ontario.
Allan Rock was elected to the Canadian Parliament in 1993, and re-elected in 1997 and 2000. He served for that decade as a senior minister in the government of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, in both social and economic portfolios. He was Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada (1993-97), Minister of Health (1997-2002) and Minister of Industry and Infrastructure (2002-03).
He was appointed in 2003 as Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations in New York during a period that involved responding to several complex regional conflicts, including those in Sri Lanka, Democratic Republic of Congo and Darfur. He led the successful Canadian effort in New York to secure, at the 2005 World Summit, the unanimous adoption by UN member states of The Responsibility to Protect populations from genocide, ethnic cleansing and other mass atrocities. He participated in the negotiation (in Abuja, Nigeria) of the Darfur Peace Agreement in May, 2006. He later served as a Special Envoy for the United Nations investigating the unlawful use of child soldiers in Sri Lanka during its civil war.
In 2008, Allan Rock became the 29th President and Vice Chancellor of the University of Ottawa, a comprehensive university of 50,000 students, faculty and staff. uOttawa is ranked among the Top Ten in Canada for research intensity, and is the largest bilingual university (French-English) in the world. He completed two terms as uOttawa President in 2016.
Allan Rock was subsequently a Visiting Scholar at Harvard Law School, associated with the Program on International Law and Armed Conflict.
👉 Back in 2015 the Canadian Crew was there not only for adventure, but somehow also to live and witness the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo faith, to discover the central element of Orthodox Christian belief and theology — The Love of Christ, The Love of Jesus Christ for humanity, The Love of Christians for Jesus Christ, and The Love of Christians for others. These aspects are distinct in Orthodox Christian teachings—the love for Christ is a reflection of his love for all. That’s what these Canadian Television crew members got climbing on a rope to reach the top of Mount Zion where this marvelous 6th century Debre Damo / St. Abuna Aregewai Monastery is located.
This made the devil mad. We know Satan hates love, and gets angry when good things happen – so a coalition Army of Satan consisting of the Gog/Magog armies of the Muslim-Protestant Oromo Abiy Ahmed Ali (ENDF), Eritrean Army (EDF), Amhara Militias, Somali Soldiers and army of drones from the United Arab Emirates decided to blow up this 6th-century Christian Monastery. We still don’t know regarding loss and damage. Until today, medias and teams who try to investigate the bombardment of the Monastery were denied entry. But, in this Jihad some Monks were killed and injured.
In 2018, after a two-year conflict, two historically warring nations — Ethiopia and Eritrea — at last signed a peace agreement. The following year, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who brokered the peace, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
In the two years since, Abiy joins the ranks of controversial Peace Prize recipients and nominees, as his record now includes overseeing what may amount to war crimes. Myanmar’s leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, for example, was awarded the prize in 1991 “for her non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights;” shortly thereafter, her government was accused of genocide against the Rohingya minority. Joseph Stalin, head of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, was twice nominated for the prize.
When Abiy received his Nobel Prize, he faced two clear paths: the path of democracy that could reconcile deep-rooted internal ethnic divisions and bring lasting peace to Ethiopia, or that of authoritarianism and renewed ethnic grievances.
Sadly, he has failed to heal a persistent national rift. Ethiopia is in crisis, as an escalating armed conflict between Abiy’s federal Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) and forces of the previously dominant political party, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), has ballooned into a humanitarian catastrophe. This power struggle came to a boiling point last year during a constitutional dispute when the Tigray region held its own elections, refusing to recognize Abiy’s administration.
Following an alleged attack by the TPLF on an Ethiopian military camp, Abiy then deployed troops into the Tigray region and, as some international observers believe, joined forces with Eritrean troops, who slaughtered Ethiopian citizens. This act of betrayal fueled the Tigrayans’ long-simmering sense that Abiy had abandoned them. After months of denying the presence of Eritrean troops in Ethiopia, Abiy finally admitted to their involvement in perpetrating abuses against the Tigrayans, but couched their involvement in the conflict by stating that Eritrea had acted in self-defense of its border.
Gruesome accounts of decapitated bodies, the use of rape and starvation tactics as weapons of war, and mass extrajudicial executions have surfaced since November. More than 500 cases of rape — including rape by armed forces, gang rape, and forced rape of family members — have been reported in Tigray.
The ENDF, regional forces, and Eritrean soldiers have destroyed food supplies and targeted civilian areas with fire — bringing upon the Horn of Africa probable famine and incalculable death.
More than 2.2 million Ethiopians have been displaced by the ongoing conflict and violence. In one week alone last December, at least 315,553 Ethiopians were displaced. International pleas for a ceasefire by aid agencies, the African Union, and the United States have been rejected. This crisis could destabilize not only Africa’s second-most populous country, but the entire Horn of Africa.
After assuming power, Abiy made steps toward democratic reform, but in the face of renewed conflict, these have given way to increasingly repressive rule. In an effort to stifle dissent, for example, Abiy shut down phone and internet communication, and detained journalists and dissidents on politically motivated charges. His government also began a state-sponsored propaganda campaign to conceal abuses in the Tigray region.
Allowing Abiy to continue this repressive course sends a signal to other countries that authoritarian regimes can operate with impunity, perpetuating mass killings, rape, famine, and displacement — all of which we have a collective interest to end. But what can the international community do to avert further authoritarian ascendance and deescalate the humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia?
👉 First, democratic leaders should refuse to engage formally with Abiy, and bar him from participating in global events such as the World Economic Forum while mass killings in Ethiopia continue. Democratic governments should boycott events — like World Press Freedom Day and the African Union Summit — hosted or sponsored by Ethiopia’s regime. Doing so will let authoritarian rulers like Abiy know that the international community will not tolerate their abuses. Notably, the US State Department imposed travel restrictions on Ethiopian officials on Sunday.
👉 Second, business leaders and institutions can refuse to trade with or provide financial bailouts to Abiy’s government, which would only grant Abiy undeserved legitimacy in global markets. As Africa’s second-most populous nation, Ethiopia is an important trade and investment partner. Refraining from further trade would represent a blow to Abiy’s propaganda campaign and increase pressure on him to end rights abuses in his own country.
Many business leaders consistently cite their commitment to human rights standards, while doing the bare minimum to enforce these standards. They need to ensure tangible actions by governments to address abuses before moving forward with partnerships with the likes of Abiy. They should follow the example of a number of companies that have called out China’s oppressive regime and refused to support the exploitation of Uyghurs in the Xinjiang region, whose forced labor supplies dozens of international brands.
👉 Third, international journalists must continue to report on the humanitarian disaster Abiy’s agenda has wrought, as Abiy attempts to portray an image of democratic reform abroad. Abiy helped create an information blackout in Ethiopia by jailing domestic journalists and restricting foreign reporting. The global media has a responsibility to expose human rights abuses and hold authoritarian rulers accountable.
Abiy has, of course, capitalized on the authority that the Nobel Peace Prize confers, to enhance his standing in the global community. Petitions asking the Nobel Committee to rescind the prize have garnered tens of thousands of signatures. But the Nobel Committee says the Prize, which is awarded for past accomplishments, cannot be revoked. It is essential, however, that anyone who prizes peace push to stop the displacement and killing of Ethiopian civilians immediately.