DOUBLE TAKE: VELOCITY VERSUS VERITY
Speedy Madrazo
MEXICO CITY -- After apparently covering 15 kilometres of a marathon course in a time faster that any human being could possibly run it, not to mention crossing the finish line wearing a windbreaker, hat and skintight running pants in 16-degree weather, Mexican politician Roberto Madrazo was disqualified Monday as winner of his age category in the Sept. 30 Berlin marathon.
Initially, it seemed that the 55-year-old runner had placed first in his age group with a surprising time of 2:41:12. But Mr. Madrazo, who suffered a humiliating defeat in Mexico's presidential election last year, couldn't leave his reputation for shady dealings in the dust.
Race officials said Monday they disqualified him for apparently taking a shortcut - an electronic tracking chip indicates he skipped two checkpoints in the race and would have needed superhuman speed to achieve his win.
According to the chip, Mr. Madrazo took only 21 minutes to cover 15 kilometres between the 20-kilometre and 35-kilometre marks - faster than any human can run.
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The world record for 15 kilometres is 41 minutes, 29 seconds, by Felix Limo of Kenya.
In a photograph taken as he crossed the finish line, Mr. Madrazo wears an ear-to-ear grin and pumps his arms in the air. But he also wore a windbreaker, hat and long, skintight running pants - too much clothing, some said, for a person who had just run some 42 kilometres in 16-degree weather.
Mr. Madrazo's outfit caught the attention of the New York-based marathon photographer Victor Sailer, who alerted race organizers that they might have a cheater on their hands.
"Everyone's wearing T-shirts and shorts, and the guy's got a jacket on and a hat or whatever," Mr. Sailer said. "I looked at it and was like, wait a second."
As a member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, which often resorted to fraud to win elections, Mr. Madrazo's reputation at home was already tarnished.
In 1996, Mexico's attorney-general confirmed reports that he had spent tens of millions of dollars more than the legal campaign spending limit in his winning 1994 bid for the Tabasco state governorship.
While under investigation on those charges, Mr. Madrazo told police he had been kidnapped for seven hours, beaten and threatened with death by unidentified assailants. Police couldn't find evidence of any such abduction, and many saw it as a sympathy ploy.
In June, Mr. Madrazo completed the San Diego marathon with a time of 3:44:06 - more than an hour slower than his time in Berlin, the Mexican newspaper Reforma reported.
