PARIS: Approximately 11,000 runners in the Mexico City Marathon were disqualified for cheating, according to a report in Spanish newspaper Marca. Organisers of the Aug. 27 race launched an investigation after receiving complaints that runners had used cars, bikes and public transportation to cut sections of the course, Marca reported. The 11,000 disqualified runners make up more than a third of the total 30,000 participants. The runners were disqualified after missing checkpoints that were placed every 5 kilometres along the 42.195-kilometre course. “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,” race organizers 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.” The Mexico City Marathon holds World Athletics Gold Label Status, which is awarded to events that uphold the strictest standards for planning, organisation and delivery. Disqualifications are common at the annual race, with some 6,000 runners denied their finishers’ medals amid accusations of cheating in 2017, and another 3,090 at the 2018 event.