OC Marathon winner is disqualified for a very bizarre reason: ‘We take these rules seriously’
- Esteban Prado was disqualified after taking water from his father during the race
- Runners can only get water at the drinking stations along the route
- Jason Yang took home his third marathon title after Prado was disqualified
The winner of the Orange County Marathon in California was disqualified for accepting water during the race.
Esteban Prado’s father noticed that his son was thirsty and decided to cycle next to him to give him water.
However, by accepting the water from his father, 24-year-old Prado unknowingly participated in what is known as ‘unauthorized assistance’, as marathon runners are only allowed to collect water from the water stations along the route.
“During yesterday’s Hoag OC Marathon, we were forced to disqualify a participant after it was confirmed that he had received unauthorized assistance from a person on a bicycle, in violation of the USA Athletics Rules and our racing rules,” race director Gary Kutschar said in a statement.
“We take these rules seriously to ensure the fairness and integrity of our event for all participants.”
Orange County Marathon winner Esteban Prado (left) in California was disqualified for accepting water from his father (right) during the race
Esteban Prado’s father gave his son water three times during the Orange County Marathon
By accepting his father’s water, Prado unknowingly participated in what is known as “unauthorized assistance”
Prado held the lead for most of the race, finishing in 2 hours, 24 minutes and 54 seconds. He told NBC Los Angeles he trained intensively for about four months, averaging 100 miles per week.
The disqualified participant told ABC-7 that the water stations were not properly managed.
“Every time I got to the stations, the volunteers were scrambling because I’m the only runner in sight, so they could barely see me around certain turns,” Prado told the outlet.
Video footage obtained by NBC Los Angeles shows Prado being given water three times by his cycling father.
Jason Yang was declared the new marathon winner after the disqualification of Prado, who finished in 2 hours, 25 minutes and 11 seconds.
Prado said he was new to running marathons as this was only his second and he was unfamiliar with the rules.
The race director called Prado after the race to inform him that another competitor saw him get a water bottle during the race.
“The only person who could see me within range was second place,” Prado told ABC 7.
But he told the newspaper that the title did not matter, and that he still considered himself the real winner of the race.
Jason Yang (pictured) was declared the new marathon winner after the disqualification of Prado, who finished in 2 hours, 25 minutes and 11 seconds
Yang took home his third marathon victory after Prado was officially disqualified
‘You don’t get any money or anything. “If he wanted those congratulations for that first place, if he really felt like he needed it, then in the end it’s just for him,” Prado said. ‘I really didn’t get anything out of it. I know I won.’
Yang took home his third marathon victory, telling NBC Los Angeles that while this wasn’t the way he wanted to win,
“To be honest, I think there should be a level playing field,” he said.