A marathon winner has been disqualified for accepting water from a family member during the race.
The incident reportedly occurred during the OC Marathon in Orange County, California, where rules state that runners can only hydrate at official stations. Gary Kutschar, the OC Marathon Race Director, said in a statement that they were "forced to disqualify a participant" after it was confirmed they received unauthorised help from someone on a bike, breaking USA Track & Field rules and their own regulations.
"We take these rules seriously to ensure fairness and the integrity of our event for all competitors," Kutschar stated. 24-year-old Esteban Prado, from Fountain Valley, California, trained for four months for the marathon and finished in 2 hours, 24 minutes, and 54 seconds.
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'If [the second-place winner] wanted that congratulations for that first place, it's just for him [...] I know I won' (abc7)He said he got a call from the race director telling him a competitor saw him get a water bottle on the field. He claimed: "The only person that could see me within range was second place."
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Esteban knew elite athletes had access to aid stations but didn't know about the rule against taking water from spectators. "Whenever I got to these stations, the volunteers were scrambling because I'm the only runner in sight," he explained. "You could barely see me, like, at certain turns."
Jason Yang of San Pedro was declared the winner with a time of 2 hours, 25 minutes, 11 seconds. Esteban said: "I don't want to argue over something that's 15 minutes away from you, you get no money or anything.
"You know, if he wanted that congratulations for that first place - if he really felt like he needed it, it's just for him at the end of the day. I really got nothing out of it. I know I won."
Esteban Prado finished the race in 2 hours, 24 minutes, 54 seconds (abc7)For all the latest news, politics, sports, and showbiz from the USA, go to The Mirror US
Esteban won't be able to use his final race time to qualify for future races. He may run his third marathon in the fall and plans to follow all the rules. Meanwhile, in her first marathon, Gabriella Smith of Lynchburg, Virginia was the women's winner in 3:05:30, 12 seconds ahead of Annika Mellquist of Gardena.
The race served as the national championship for the Road Runners Club of America, the nation's oldest and largest distance running organization. The 26-mile, 385-yard marathon course began in front of the VEA Marriott Resort Hotel & Spa, and then went through Corona del Mar and the Newport Harbor area.
The runners then entered Costa Mesa, passed the Segerstrom Center for the Arts, went around the South Coast Plaza and through Segerstrom High School. The course continued for one mile in Santa Ana, then turned onto the Santa Ana River Trail for 1.5 miles, exiting at the Gisler footbridge to run through the Mesa Verde neighbourhoods and then the "Bird Streets.'' The race ended at the OC Fair and Event Center in Costa Mesa.
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