Mexican politician cheats in marathon

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Miami Herald

Mexican politician cheats in marathon
Posted on Tue, Oct. 09, 2007
By JESSICA BERNSTEIN-WAX
Associated Press Writer

MEXICO CITY -- 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.
(snip)

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.


Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/americas/story/265328.html

[Lithos]

1. ROFL

Karma...

[SidDithers]

2. Good thing he lost the presidential election...

'cause he's obviously too stupid to run a country. I mean, anyone who's run a road race knows about chip timing and checkpoints.

Sid

[robinlynne]

3. excuse me, Mexico just had a fraudulent presidential election, with bush money

going to the current winner, via choicepoint, boxes of filled in ballots found in garbage dumps, millions of people in the streets protesting the election, and the triumphant right wing comes up with this crap?
sounds just like our counrty.

[nashville_brook]

4. how soon we forget!

[Benhurst]

5. Thanks for putting the story in perspective.

What Bushit!

[Solar_Power]

6. Now that's stupid - did he not realize the chips are required for a reason?

Wow. You can't make stuff like this up

[pissed-off-student]

7. hahaha

thats funny thanks for that