This year's Mexico City Marathon was a carnival of cheating, with more than a third of the 30,000 runners disqualified, according to Spanish sports newspaper Marca. According to Marca, tracking data showed that 11,000 runners didn't pass checkpoints set up every 3.1 miles along the route, with some runners allegedly using private vehicles or public transport to get to the finish line. The race's organizer, the Sports Institute of Mexico City, didn't confirm the numbers but said it's working to identify those who showed an "unsportsmanlike attitude during the event and will invalidate their registration time."
The marathon "not only represents an important celebration for all the people of the capital, but it is also an opportunity to reaffirm the transcendental values of the sport," the institute said. ESPN reports that the marathon has had issues with cheating in the past, with around 6,000 runners disqualified in 2017 and 3,000 in 2018.
This year's accusations of cheating have brought fresh attention to a 2007 cheating scandal involving former presidential candidate Roberto Madrazo, the New York Times reports. Madrazo, who'd made his marathon-running a feature of his campaign ads, won the men's category for his age in the Berlin Marathon but was disqualified for cheating. Organizers checked a tracking chip and discovered that he'd taken shortcuts after a photographer showed them images of Madrazo wearing a jacket and cap while other runners were sweating in shorts and T-shirts. (More marathon stories.)
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