Mexico Politician Stripped of Marathon Title for Taking Shortcut

Naughty, naughty. A Mexican politician is taking a ribbing from the global press for apparently cheating in an international sporting event. He says he didn’t—but like Shakespeare’s lady, he seems to protest too much…

Roberto Madrazo, 55, “won” for his age group at the Sept. 30 Berlin Marathon. However, judges later stripped him of his title after electronic monitors showed that he’d cut about nine miles off the race.

Madrazo, who ran a distant third place in Mexico’s presidential elections last year, says he never claimed to have won the marathon. He says he dropped out of the race about halfway through, and was directed to the finish line to collect his things. Curiously, however, he approached the finish line running with the other competitors and raising his arms over his head as though in victory—and all of it was caught on film. Madrazo didn't mention to judges at the time that he’d dropped out of the competition.

A race photographer noted that Madrazo crossed the finish line in a jacket and long pants—but barely sweating after the 26-mile race. Officials opened an investigation and eventually disqualified Madrazo’s first-place win.

The German press has lambasted Madrazo as “Speedy González”—his race time was clocked at two hours 41 minutes. The Mexican press, after first touting the victory, is now having a field day lampooning him. It says Madrazo applied old-school political dirty tricks to the realm of international sports.

Madrazo belongs to the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI), a party famous for rigging elections during its 71 years in power. The PRI’s control of the Mexican presidency ended in 2000, when Vicente Fox’s election put rival Partido Acción Nacional (National Action Party, or PAN) in power.

Madrazo, a longtime amateur marathon runner, says that the attacks are politically motivated, and are meant to discredit his sporting career and a foundation he plans to launch called Marathon: A Foundation for Competition. Does anyone appreciate the irony of that?

Best regards,

Suzan Haskins
Latin America Editorial Director, International Living