Marathon winner loses title after taking water from dad, California reports say

A marathon winner lost his first-place title after accepting water from his father along the race route, California reports say.

Esteban Prado, of Fountain Valley, was disqualified from the Hoag OC Marathon after he was seen drinking water provided by a cyclist along the race route, Gary Kutschar, the race’s director, told McClatchy News in a May 7 phone interview.

Kutschar said the cyclist was also relaying information about the race and its competitors to Prado during the Sunday, May 5, race.

“I told him (over the phone), ‘Esteban, I hate to say this, but … that’s an illegal assistance,’” Kutschar said. “It’s an infraction that can’t be overlooked.”

Both the provision of water and information violate Rule 144 of the USA Track & Field competition rules, as they are considered “assistance,” according to Kutschar.

Runners are only allowed to take water from hydration stations along the route, the rule states. Additionally, the “conveying of advice, information or direct help to a competitor by any means, including a technical device” is prohibited.

Kutschar said video from the race’s cyclist course marshals confirms the violations.

These rules should be known by runners, especially those “competing for any of the top spots,” Kutschar said.

“It’s incumbent on the runner to know the rules,” Kutschar said.

Prado told NBC Los Angeles his reason for accepting water from his father was from a lack of preparedness on the part of marathon organizers.

“Because I was first place, a lot of the volunteers were just like scrambling,” Prado told the news outlet. “By the time I got there, they were... grabbing the water. So a lot of the time the water stations, they really had nothing for me.”

This, however, wasn’t the case, according to Kutschar.

“We have videos showing him passing water stations and not taking the Gatorade or water but receiving it in a bottle from a guy on a bicycle,” Kutschar said.

Even if it were the case that the water stations were not properly equipped, Kutschar said Prado’s taking of water would have given him an unfair advantage.

“The (other) guy who’s in competition with him is not receiving that same hydration or nutrition,” Kutschar said. “It’s not incumbent on the race to have a certain number of water stations, or anything else. It’s incumbent to make it a fair and equitable event. And so to ensure fairness, and the integrity for all the athletes, they have to play by the same rules.”

Jason Yang, of San Pedro, who finished seconds after Prado, was announced the race’s new winner with a time of 2 hours, 25 minutes, 11 seconds, Kutschar said.

“We’ll welcome him (Prado) back,” Kutschar said. “I think he’s a young runner with a lot of promise. I hope that he does just learn from this.”

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