Mexico Marathon disqualifies 11,000 out of 30,000 runners for cheating

Mexico Marathon organisers have reportedly disqualified up to 11,000 participants on the grounds that they allegedly cheated during the race.

On August 27, over 30,000 fitness fanatics lined up in Mexico City to run the 41.195-kilometre marathon on its 40th anniversary.

However, following the conclusion of the event, the Mexico City Sports Institute has since announced that they are launching an investigation into the race.

It’s alleged that thousands of runners’ electronic trackers reportedly revealed that participants had been skipping through checkpoints.

This meant that a plethora of racers had not completed the full 26.22-mile course and were thus accused of cheating.

In a statement, organisers of the Mexico Marathon said: "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 statement continued: "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."

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According to sports publication Marca, checkpoints were situated every five kilometres of the race to ensure that finishers would not be able to cut any distance.

As well as collecting data from the electronic trackers, it’s stated that organisers received anonymous complaints regarding some participants using vehicles and public transport to get ahead.

As the Mexico Marathon holds gold accreditation from World Athletics, the organisers are strict when it comes to cheaters and have reportedly disqualified participants before.

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In 2017, 6,000 runners were denied their finishers medals after a reported 20 per cent of participants failed to complete the full course.

The same issue arose in 2018 when the running race was forced to wipe out the results of over 3,000 recreational runners.

However, it wasn’t doom and gloom for everyone at the 40th edition of the Mexico Marathon.

Celestine Chepchir placed first on the women’s podium with a time of two hours, 27 minutes and 17 seconds.

In the men’s race, 35-year-old Héctor Garibay Flores came out on top with a race time of two hours, eight minutes and 23 seconds.

Not only did the Bolivian walk away with $32,814 (£27,9700) and a Garmin watch, but he also smashed the record for the fastest Mexican Marathon time.

The time to beat was Titus Ekire’s 2018 effort, which saw the Kenyan completing the course in two hours, ten minutes and 38 seconds.

Speaking about his win, Garibay Flores said: “I’m very happy because I only came [to Mexico] to get a podium.

“We are very short of money, but the truth is [finishing in the top 3 is what’s] important for me.”