Iron Man Woman Champions Environment And Human Rights
She’s recently become the first woman to crack three hours for the marathon in New Zealand ironman racing history,
covering the grueling 42.2 kilometres in just over 2hrs 59mins. That was after a personal best time in the 3.8km swim
and a 180km bike ride at the 20th annual Ironman New Zealand in Taupo.
It was a great start to the competitive career in New Zealand of PhD student and research assistant Jessica
Draskau-Petersson, who’s shifted to Hamilton from the UK to study at Waikato University’s School of Law.
Her performance at the Ironman New Zealand triathlon was all the more impressive given that a bike accident, which left
her with a broken collar bone, meant she’d only been able to train for about six weeks prior to the event.
She was already the British universities women’s marathon champion and was placed 22nd at the world triathlon champs in
Hawaii last year. “I plan to go back to the world champs in Hawaii next year and I’m hoping for a place in the top 15.”
But, while she’s very focused on her sports training, Jessica is also very committed to human rights and the
environment. It’s a commitment reflected in her choice of PhD study.
Jessica’s preparing to study biodiversity in inland waterways, such as lakes, rivers and some coastal waters, and how
those waterways should be managed in conjunction with indigenous peoples, as suggested under the international
Convention on Biodiversity. She’s considering three potential case studies in New Zealand, Australia and the United
States.
How did she get involved in this area? “Given my commitment to human rights and protecting the environment, this area of
study had a sort of crossover between the two so I was attracted to it.”