Marathon Champion Disqualified for Unauthorized Help

A competitive runner from Fountain Valley, California, was stripped of his title as the men’s winner of Saturday’s Hoag Orange County Marathon in California after he was found to have violated the race’s rules.

Esteban Prado, 24, was disqualified after he accepted water from a his dad during the race, in what has been reported as a breach of the event’s regulations, according to KABC-TV.

“I know I won,” Prado said.

Esteban Prado, who spent months training for the marathon and won it, received water from a spectator. And that’s a no-no. https://t.co/a3rglm81wH

— NBC New York (@NBCNewYork) May 7, 2024

According to the rules, marathon participants are only permitted to hydrate at official water stations.

OC Marathon’s Race Director Gary Kutschar explained that they were “forced to disqualify a participant” after it was verified that the runner received “unauthorized assistance from an individual on a bicycle, in violation of USA Track & Field rules and our race regulations.”

“We take these rules seriously to ensure fairness and the integrity of our event for all competitors,” Kutschar concluded.

Prado had reportedly trained for approximately four months for the marathon and finished, with a time of 2 hours, 24 minutes, and 54 seconds.

“About like a three- to four-month period of just 100-mile week trainings,” Prado said, according to KNBC. “Just kind of balancing that with work, and also just including that in the weekend.”

He was informed of his disqualification via a call from the race director on Sunday.

A father sees that his son is thirsty. So he hands a bottle of water to his offspring, who takes a slug.

Is that wrong?

Well, yes, it’s a rules violation during a marathon, and it resulted in Esteban Prado being disqualified as the O.C. Marathon winner.https://t.co/9p3OJxgGA9 pic.twitter.com/58N07pwiP3

— David Carrillo Peñaloza (@ByDCP) May 7, 2024

Prado did acknowledge his ignorance of the specific rule against receiving water from spectators, and following his disqualification, Jason Yang of San Pedro was declared the winner with a running time of 2 hours, 25 minutes, 11 seconds.

Prado told KABC that he has no interest in contesting the decision, emphasizing that the victory held no tangible benefit for him: “I don’t want to argue over something that’s 15 minutes away from you. You get no money or anything.”

He also stated his belief that Yang had ratted him out to the race’s administrators, telling KABC, “The only person that could see me within range was second place.”

He then took a direct shot at Yang: “You know, if he wanted that congratulations for that first place, if he really felt like he needed it, it’s just for him at the end of the day.”

California marathon winner Esteban Prado disqualified for accepting cup of water from his dad during race: ‘I know I won’ https://t.co/3CfmG6lMoO pic.twitter.com/f5W4xgcB6L

— New York Post (@nypost) May 8, 2024

Unfortunately, this disqualification means Prado cannot use his finishing time to qualify for future races, though he plans to compete again in the fall.

This time, he will be adhering to all regulations.