More than a third of runners at this year’s Mexico City Marathon have been expelled after organisers say they cut out sections of the 26.2 mile course.
An investigation was launched after complaints that runners had used cars, public transport and bikes to cheat during the race on 27 August. Tracking data then showed that thousands of participants had not passed some of the 5km checkpoints that monitor whether runners have completed the entire race.
“The Mexico City Sports Institute informs that it will proceed to identify those cases in which participants of the XL Mexico City Marathon Telcel 2023 have demonstrated an unsportsmanlike attitude during the event and will invalidate their registration times,” the organisers said in a statement to Marca.
“This great event not only represents an outstanding celebration for all the inhabitants of the capital, but also an occasion to reaffirm the transcendental values of sport.”
Runners World reported that some participants insisted that they had not cheated but rather the trackers were faulty and did not register at checkpoints.
The Mexico City Marathon is one of the most popular races in North America and holds gold status with World Athletics, which the governing body awards to races that have high standards in planning and organisation. The race has expelled runners for cheating before: in 2017 6,000 were expelled for not completing the full distance.
None of the elite runners in the race are believed to have been expelled. In the 1980 Boston Marathon, Rosie Ruiz had her victory stripped from her after it was found she had snuck on to the course shortly before the finish line.
Source: The Gardian
