California marathon winner loses title due to water incident

Lauren Lewis and Chip Yost

10 hours ago

(KTLA) – Esteban Prado of Fountain Valley, California, crossed the finish line first at the Orange County Marathon on Sunday with a time of 2 hours, 24 minutes and 54 seconds.

However, his first place didn’t count.

Prado, 24, was stripped of his title for breaching racing rules when it was revealed his father had cycled the 26.2-mile route and given him water.

Prado was disqualified on Sunday shortly after he was declared the winner, race officials announced the following day.

“At yesterday’s Hoag OC Marathon, we had to disqualify a competitor after it was confirmed that he received unauthorized assistance from a person on a bicycle, in violation of USA Track and Field Rules and our race regulations,” race director Gary Kutschar said in a statement . “We take these rules seriously to ensure fairness and the integrity of our event for all participants.”

Kutschar did not specify in his statement which rule Prado had violated, even though U.S. track and field rules prohibit participants from receiving refreshments that were not carried at the start of the race or purchased at an official aid station.

There are also rules for accompanying non-participants along the race track.

Prado responded to a request for comment through his mother saying he had put the incident behind him.

Race officials have now also named Jason Yang the official winner of Sunday’s marathon, with a time of 2 hours, 25 minutes and 11 seconds.

Yang, of San Pedro, told Nexstar’s KTLA that he actually saw someone on a bike handing out Prado liquid from a “flask”-like bottle. Still, Yang said he was uncertain about his own victory.

“It’s a different feeling,” he told KTLA. “It doesn’t feel as good as a normal win should feel. I think it’s being exaggerated.”