10-09) 07:47 PDT MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AP) --
After a humiliating defeat in Mexico's presidential election last year,
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.
But Madrazo couldn't leave his reputation for shady dealings in the
dust. Race officials said Monday they disqualified him for apparently
taking a short cut ‹ 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, Madrazo took only 21 minutes to cover nine miles
‹ faster than any human can run. "Not even the world record holder can
go that fast," race director Mark Milde said.
In a photograph taken as he crossed the finish line, Madrazo wears an
ear-to-ear grin and pumps his arms in the air. But he also wore a wind
breaker, hat and long, skintight running pants ‹ too much clothing, some
said, for a person who had just run 26.2 miles in 60-degree weather.
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.
"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."
The world record for 15 kilometers ‹ the distance Madrazo covered in 21
minutes ‹ is 41 minutes 29 seconds, by Felix Limo of Kenya.
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.
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, Madrazo told police he was
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.
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 his time in Berlin, 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 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 the fact that Madrazo appears to be
celebrating in the photograph could go against this theory, he added.
Some 32,500 people finished the race and about 40 are disqualified every
year, Milde said.
--
Crossing the starting line is 90%.
Crossing the finish line is the other 90%.