This year, the world-famous New York City Marathon welcomed tens of thousands of runners from across the globe — as well as one very special duck.
Wrinkle the Travelling Duck, as she is known on TikTok, waddled her way into the hearts of millions when she participated in a stretch of the marathon, which took place on Sunday.
In a video that has received more than 3.4 million views, the intrepid waterfowl can be seen racing alongside other competitive runners as her owners and others cheer her on.
Prizewinning pet portrait pictures
Cat category winner: 'Why are you upside down Mum?' by Malgorzata Russell.
Pets who look like their owners category: 'Morning Mood' by Hannah Seeger.
Overall and dog category winner: 'Guard dog on duty' by Elke Vogelsang.
All other creatures - great and small winner: 'Drama Queen' by Anne Lindner.
Mighty horse category winner: 'Gossip Girls' by Magdalena Strakova.
Junior category winner: 'Good morning, Fox Mulder!' by Ayden Brooks.
Highly Commended: 'Hold On Tight We're Running Late' by Karen Hoglund.
Highly Commended: 'Living Trophy' by Antonio Peregrino.
Highly Commended: 'The Moment You Realise You’ve Gone Through Half A Jar of Snacks' by Candice Sedighan.
Highly Commended: 'Ohhhhhhh' by Dimpy Bhalotia.
Highly Commended: 'Squirrel' by Elke Vogelsang.
Highly Commended: 'The Dancing Cat' by Iain McConnell.
Highly Commended: 'Friends Don't Let Friends Do Silly Things' by Kerstin Ordelt.
Highly Commended: 'The Dancing Kitten' by Iain McConnell.
Highly Commended: 'Over Dramatic Cat' by Iain McConnell.
Highly Commended: 'Look Mum, I Can Walk on Water' by John Carelli.
The duck's unique fashion sense is also on display in the video, as she sports a pair of custom-made trainers.
With almost 600,000 followers, many gained over the past few days, Wrinkle's TikTok page is full of videos showing her taking baths, jumping in fallen leaves, stealing shoes and, of course, preparing for the marathon by running through the house.
As she had not officially entered the race nor paid the entry fee, it can be assumed that Wrinkle did not complete the entire course or have her time recorded — to the great relief of the top finishers.
The New York Marathon was cancelled in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic and this year, runners and their supporters flocked to the course for the event's 50th anniversary.
RESULTS
6.30pm Maiden (TB) Dh82.500 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winner Meshakel, Royston Ffrench (jockey), Salem bin Ghadayer (trainer)
7.05pm Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,400m
Winner Gervais, Connor Beasley, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
7.40pm Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (Turf) 2,410m
Winner Global Heat, Pat Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor.
8.15pm Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (D) 1,900m
Winner Firnas, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.
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Zakat definitions
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened. He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia. Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”. Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
