Who the heck is George Zimmerman witness Jane Surdyka? Witness who says she would have been Olympic marathoner?

Dersh wrote:

I'm sure that I don't remember everything that I did thirty years ago. But I do remember that I didn't make the U.S. Olympic team. And although I did run in the Olympic trials -- unlike, as far as I am aware, Ms. Surdyka -- I would never refer to myself as a "former Olympic runner." That would be either a lie or a delusion, both of which are relevant to credibility of a witness.

This is really the bottom line. It doesn't matter that she was a good runner. If she claimed to be a former Olympian she lied. (If she claimed to be Olympic-caliber she is probably delusional but not lying.)

Qualifying for the Olympic Trials is not the same thing as being an Olympian. Not even close. As others have said, she might have qualified but she didn't even run the race.

Woah woah, are you talking about 1980 or 1984? I am not following your train on thought here.

Huh? What is your point? Also, I would guess most 2:4X female marathoners both train and hold down jobs.

Did you really just say that?

Because becoming an Olympian is just part of life's minutia. I mean really, who can actually remember if they competed at the Olympics or not?

Why was the lawyer even asking about this?

luv2run wrote:

Why was the lawyer even asking about this?

Trying to boost his witness's credentials. She was an Olympic athlete so she must be a credible person.

Did she say that in her testimony or are people just looking at her comment on a a message board? I watched it and didn't hear it. I might have missed it.

Testifying in court is a pretty stressful event. I testify in court a couple of times a month for my job. Even after a couple of years of testifying, the more weighty hearings are terrifying. Since notes are not allowed, you are forced to try to memorize answers to any questions that might come up. (questions come up like "In the last two years, on what dates did you have contact with this person?") Many people who are not comfortable with testifying feel pressured into answering the attorneys questions too quickly without even thinking about the question. There have been times I have agreed to statements made by the attorneys that were incorrect without even thinking about it, when I've caught myself I've gone back and clarified what was correct; however, someone who is not comfortable in a courtroom might not feel that they could speak up to make the correction.

Basically, what I'm saying is that witness' testimony tends to be flawed. I would place much more trust in the original report given to the police or a deposition closer to the time of the event.

jury duty wrote:

Testifying in court is a pretty stressful event.

True, (and I don't know what she did or didn't say in court)but the person who posted this on the Topix message board was unlikely to be stressed when they posted it:

Dersh wrote:

Here is a message board on which one "Jayne Surdyka" describes herself as "an Exercise Physiologist M.A. and former Olympic athlete"

ray wrote:

Did she say that in her testimony or are people just looking at her comment on a a message board? I watched it and didn't hear it. I might have missed it.

Obviously don't have the official court transcript but I made the original post just minutes after she started her testimony. It went down just like I posted in the first post of the thread.

I don't think she necessarily "lied" but she didn't tell "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help me God" either. She could be an Olympic gold medalist or a fat couch potato, to me it is completely irrelevant to the case. Lawyer should never have asked it.

Here's one guess wrote:

luv2run wrote:

Why was the lawyer even asking about this?

Trying to boost his witness's credentials. She was an Olympic athlete so she must be a credible person.

So was Lance...

@MWSSS, re: "The 80 Boycott was not even "whispered about" 16 months prior. You are talking Spring 1979 - the Soviets did not invade (the cause of the boycott) until the end of the year. Carter did not make it official until about a month later.

A boycott in 1980 should not affect the athletes for 1984. It is FOUR YEARS later. Besides, it isn't like they were worried we may boycott the 84 Games - we hosted them."

Thank you for pointing out the absurdity of this woman's claims about her imagined level of athleticism. As the husband of a woman who not only WAS an '84 Olympian (and double medalist), but also a VICTIM of that '80 boycott, I take an especial measure of exception (bordering on loathing) to the myriad of "faux Olympians" that the boycott created in its wake.

Absent a collective memory of those Games (since we weren't competing, they were not even televised), Americans are too easily duped/beguiled by the poseurs who feel no reluctance, whatsoever, to elevate their own sporting stature by preying on the loss - an Olympic experience - that those who actually WOULD have been there suffered. Ms. Surdyka is a bold-faced liar, has to know the truth about her otherwise relatively "decent" athletic credentials and was stupid enough to not only open herself up to public scorn (well-earned), but also impugn her own credibility. If she lies so freely about things that can be readily checked, is she really to be believed when it comes to her testimony in this trial?

Amen, Dersh!

The woman lied. Simple as that.

I wonder if the defense attorney had been "one of us" he'd have been allowed to question her on this point of her testimony.

Hi Ray, I believe you are off in the years Jayne was at Southern. I ran track there in the 70's and she was not there during my years although the name sounds familiar. I saw a comment in one link that she graduated in 1985.

Nice to read something about my old school and the 70's although I am curious why you said she ran then.

ray wrote:

Did she say that in her testimony or are people just looking at her comment on a a message board? I watched it and didn't hear it. I might have missed it.

Right around the 3:45 mark

"Did you also qualify for the Olympics at some point in your life?"

"During the eighties you know when I was running and if they had a marathon in the Olympic Games I would have been the top three runners."

"And were those the Olympics that were boycotted?"

"Yes Sir."

So she was one of the top three US female marathon runners leading up to the 1980 Olympics which were boycotted and if they hadn't been boycotted, and there had been a womens marathon, she would have qualified?

Not withstanding someone referring to herself as Jayne Surdyka "former Olympic athlete":

http://www.topix.com/forum/med/massage-therapy/TV0KCIULOINBN8UV1

Looks like other media have got hold of the story through LR without crediting it:

http://dailycaller.com/2013/06/28/no-evidence-zimmerman-eyewitness-qualified-for-olympics-despite-claim-under-oath/

http://patriotupdate.com/2013/06/no-evidence-zimmerman-eyewitness-qualified-for-olympics-despite-claim-under-oath/

Who Knows wrote:

"Did you also qualify for the Olympics at some point in your life?"

"During the eighties you know when I was running and if they had a marathon in the Olympic Games I would have been the top three runners."

"And were those the Olympics that were boycotted?"

"Yes Sir."

So she was one of the top three US female marathon runners leading up to the 1980 Olympics which were boycotted and if they hadn't been boycotted, and there had been a womens marathon, she would have qualified?

Not withstanding someone referring to herself as Jayne Surdyka "former Olympic athlete":

http://www.topix.com/forum/med/massage-therapy/TV0KCIULOINBN8UV1

That doesn't seem so far-fetched. Why are you guys so upset about this? She was one of the top 3 marathoners going into 1980. Then the Olympics got boycotted. Her story is accurate and close enough for the court.

Perhaps the fact that the marathon wasn't an Olympic event for women until 1984? Kind of hard to be an Olympian if your event isn't contested in the Olympics.

JSJD: I am "upset" for two principal reasons.

1) As I mentioned in a previous post, my wife was one of those athletes victimized by the '80 boycott: a time when she was, inarguably, in the prime of her career. She was tenacious enough, talented enough and lucky enough to make the team (captained it, again) in gymnastics in '84, as well as retire, immediately after, with two Olympic medals. Unlike her, however, four women (counting the alternate) from the 1980 team did NOT make - or had already retired and, thus, did not compete for - the '84 team. They are Marcia Frederick, Beth Kline, Amy Koopman and Lucy Collins. These women were not even officially RECOGNIZED as Olympians until August of 2010, when they and their teammates were honored at the National Championships in Hartford:

http://usagym.org/pages/post.html?PostID=6062

Something about "stolen honor" seems far too apt (and kind) in characterizing the Jayne Surdykas of the world. FYI, there are far too many of them, as I have learned through the years.

2) Jayne Surdyka's PR from 1980 was, seemingly, the 2:47:57 that one of the other posters remarked on. London, btw, is a noted FAST course; i.e., a PR course. Not only would that time not come close to making her one of the top three women in the world - assuming that the Moscow had ever even been intended to include a women's marathon (and it hadn't) - it would not even have come close to putting her in the top three in the NYC marathon that November. As you can see, Jackie Gareau was third in NYC with a time of 2:39:04 -

http://www.runnersworld.com/races/running-times-1980-new-york-city-marathon-coverage?page=single

The cut-to-the-chase on Ms. Surdyka is that she is a LIAR. No other conclusion can be arrived at when it comes to her self-professed athletic resume. For whatever it's worth, I believe that Zimmerman broke the law that night by disobeying a directive from law enforcement not to follow Trayvon Martin. I believe he should be held accountable for the horrible conclusion that was put in motion by HIS actions, exclusively. But I KNOW that the prosecution did itself no favors by calling Surdyka to the stand and asking a question that they should have vetted her on - and receiving an outright lie as the response. A lie which calls her character, much less her memory, into question.