Thread: Mexican Candidate cheats at Berlin Marathon

As an old Mexican saying goes: "El que no tranza, no avanza". TRANSLATED: "He who does not cheat, does not win".

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/10/ ... lified.php

MEXICO CITY: After a humiliating defeat in Mexico's 2006 presidential election, Roberto Madrazo appeared to be back on top: He'd won the men's age-55 category in the Sept. 30 Berlin marathon with a surprising time of 2:41:12.

He could run, but he couldn't leave his reputation for shady dealings in the dust. Race officials said Monday they disqualified Madrazo for apparently taking a short cut.

In a photograph taken as he crossed the finish line, Madrazo wears an ear-to-ear grin and pumps his arms in the air. Problem is, he was also wearing a wind breaker, a hat and long, skintight running pants — too much clothing, some said, for a person who'd just run for almost three hours in 60-degree Fahrenheit (16-degree Celsius) weather.

Madrazo's outfit caught the attention of New York-based marathon photographer Victor Sailer, who alerted race organizers that they might have a cheater on their hands.

"It was so obvious to me, if you look at everyone else that's in the picture, everyone's wearing T-shirts and shorts, and the guy's got a jacket on and a hat or whatever," Sailer said. "I looked at it and was like, wait a second."

At a Mexico City taxi stand on Monday, drivers Octavio Elizalde Cerrillo and Roberto Valle Rivera poked fun at Madrazo's troubles. They, like other Mexicans their age, lived under decades of uninterrupted rule by Madrazo's Institutional Revolutionary Party, which often resorted to fraud to win elections, leaving many deeply distrustful of politicians.

"If he's a cheat at one thing, he'll cheat at anything," said Valle Rivera, 44.

"If you're going to steal, you'll steal here, in the United States, in Europe, everywhere in the world," Elizalde Cerrillo, 41, added with a smile.

Organizers in Berlin found that an electronic chip tracking Madrazo's time and course showed no result for the checkpoints at 25 and 30 kilometers.

According to the chip, Madrazo took only 21 minutes to cover the 15 kilometers between the 20-kilometer and 35-kilometer marks — faster than any human being can run, race director Mark Milde said. "Not even the world record holder can go that fast," he said.

The world record for 15 kilometers is 41 minutes 29 seconds, by Felix Limo of Kenya.

Madrazo's reputation at home was already less than squeaky clean. In 1996, Mexico's attorney general confirmed some reports that he had spent tens of millions of dollars (euros) more than the legal campaign spending limit in his winning 1994 bid for the Tabasco state governorship.

While under investigation on those charges, Madrazo told police he was kidnapped for seven hours, beaten and threatened with death by unidentified assailants. Police were never able to find any evidence that any such abduction had occurred, and many saw it as a sympathy ploy.

During the 2006 presidential campaign, opponents plastered walls with posters reading, "Do you believe Madrazo? I don't either!"

In June, Madrazo completed the San Diego marathon with a time of 3:44:06 — more than an hour slower than at the Berlin race, Mexican newspaper Reforma reported. Madrazo's office did not return phone calls from The Associated Press.

Race director Milde noted that Madrazo may have intended to drop out of the race and taken a shortcut to reach the start-finish area.

"I don't know if it was his intention or accidental: I try to believe in the good of people," Milde said. But he added that the fact that Madrazo appears to be celebrating in the photograph could go against this theory.

Some 32,500 people finished the race and about 40 are disqualified every year, Milde said.

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Ha Ha Are we surprised? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It appears it is in the nature of Mexicans to cheat.

After the race, when he was accused of cheating, he demanded that the German government provide him with public welfare and German citizenship. Then he called them racist and said he was there to do a job Germans wouldn't do. Bush later praised his efforts as "good runnery."

A mexican citizen breaking the rules? I don't believe it...

hmmmm, he crossed a line "unlawfully",sure hope it doesn't become a trend

Rawhide!

Originally Posted by Chosen

It appears it is in the nature of Mexicans to cheat.

After the race, when he was accused of cheating, he demanded that the German government provide him with public welfare and German citizenship. Then he called them racist and said he was there to do a job Germans wouldn't do. Bush later praised his efforts as "good runnery."

And then was cleared and forgiven for the cheating, paid a small fine, and was declared the legitimate winner.

......and signed onto a temporary marathon program. People want to call this "cheating,' but it is not. He would have to pay a fine, temporarily return to Mexico, learn the marathon rules, and then continue running marathons.

See, its not cheating.

lol

LOL THIS IS NO BIG SUPRISE. NO GLORY IN CHEATING AND IT ALWAYS COMES AROUND TO BITE YOU IN THE AZZ. ALWAYS...EVENTUALLY. THAT IS THE MORAL OF THE STORY.

Mecico--

No honor, no guts, no glory, no morales, no honesty, no convictions, no pain, no gain, no family values, no intelligence, just thievery, dishonesty, ignorance, self indulgence, self, self and more self.

The same can be said for its government.

Isn't it nice to know that there are some Mexicans living here that aren't like that!