A father sees that his son is thirsty. Very, very thirsty. He then hands a bottle of water to his grateful offspring, who takes a sip.
Is this so false?
Well, yes, this is a violation of the rules during a marathon, and it resulted in Esteban Prado being disqualified on Sunday as the winner of the Orange County Marathon. Prado led most of the 26.2-mile course and finished in 2 hours, 24 minutes and 54 seconds.
In marathon lingo, this is called unauthorized assistance – runners can only get water at official hydration stations – and apparently the fact that Prado’s father stopped on his bike at his sides to give him water made this violation a double no-no.
“We were forced to disqualify a participant after it was confirmed that he had received unauthorized assistance from an individual on a bicycle, in violation of the USA Track and Field Rules and our racing regulations ” said race director Gary Kutschar. “We take these rules seriously to ensure the fairness and integrity of our event for all competitors.”
The incident brought to mind two other disqualifications, including one 10 years ago at the same OC Marathon.
Finalist Stephan Shay’s brother produced a video of race winner Mohamed Fadil accompanied by a friend going for a bike ride. Kutscher, race director since 2009, disqualified Fadil because in addition to providing water, the cycling buddy was setting an illegal pace.
“We were able to see that yes, in fact, the cyclist was pacing illegally, if you will,” Kutcher said. As a result, I determined that this was something that needed to be overturned and make Stephan Shay our winner.
The video was taken by Stephan Shay’s brother Nathan, who also confronted the cyclist about breaking the rules.
To which the cyclist replied: “Why don’t you relax, buddy. Just because your brother was beaten.
The Shays had the last laugh, and Stephan took home the top medal and a $4,000 prize.
There was much more at stake last November when Ethan Hermann finished the Philadelphia Marathon in 2:17:03, almost a minute under the qualifying mark for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials of 2:18 :00. Yet Hermann, running his first marathon, was disqualified and denied a chance at the Olympic trials because his coach handed him a bottle of water at a hydration station.
Only designated volunteers are allowed to do this. This seems insignificant, even though the rule is in place to ensure that riders are not given fluid that might contain something performance-enhancing.
“I ran my first marathon in front of my favorite city in the world, my family, my friends, my second family and so many people who treat me like family,” Hermann posted on Instagram. “I had the most special day and worked my core and my legs.
“That being said, as a beginner marathoner, there is a learning curve. I wasn’t as educated as I thought about everything, all the good things didn’t happen the way they wanted and I was ultimately disqualified from the race.
As for Sunday’s OC Marathon, the winner is now Jason Yang of San Pedro with a time of 2:25.11.
California Daily Newspapers
