Mexico City Marathon: 11,000 runners disqualified for cheating

A third of the participants
Mass Cheating at Mexico City Marathon – 11,000 runners disqualified

30,000 runners started the marathon in Mexico City. 11,000 of them are subsequently disqualified – they are said to have cheated and taken shortcuts.

Anyone who runs a marathon can rightly be proud of himself. But thousands of runners, who still looked happy after crossing the finish line in Mexico City, have now been convicted of cheating.

At the race in A total of around 11,000 runners in Mexico are said to have used unfair means. Just over 30,000 people attended the August 27 sporting event. This means that a third of the participants cheated. The affected runners were subsequently disqualified by the organizers. They are accused of not completing the entire 42.195 kilometers but of taking shortcuts along the way.

Many took shortcuts – some even took the subway

After the first indications of inconsistencies, the organizers checked the electronic chips that the runners wear on their bodies and with which their distance is measured. It turned out that many athletes had not run the full distance and some were not registered at all checkpoints along the route. According to media reports, some even used public transport to take shortcuts.

The Mexico City Marathon is one of the largest and most prestigious sporting events in Latin America. “This great event is not only an outstanding celebration for all residents of the capital, but also an opportunity to reaffirm the values ​​of sport,” the organizers said in a statement. The cheaters had “unsportsmanlike behavior” on the day, the organizer said in a statement. Your times are now cancelled.

Fraud attempts in Mexico are increasing

There have been repeated frauds in the marathon in recent years. In 2017 almost 6000 runners were disqualified, in 2018 there were 3000. In Mexico these athletes are colloquially called “chocolate runners”. An often suspected reason for this accumulation of fraud attempts: the coveted qualification for the legendary Boston Marathon. to be eligible for the race, one must have completed a marathon in a specified time in the previous 18 months.

Sources: “marca” / “Economists” / ESPN

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