Roughly 11,000 people have been disqualified from the Mexico City Marathon for cheating, according to reports.
More than a third of those who competed are said to have cut corners during the 26.2mile course on August 27 – with accusations they used cars, bikes and public transport.
Spanish outlet Marca claim an investigation using data from the runners' electronic trackers revealed that thousands upon thousands hadn't passed through the regular checkpoints.
Some have suggested the trackers were faulty, and The Mexico City Sports Institute are now looking into the bizarre situation to get to the bottom of it all.
READ MORE: Craziest marathon cheats including man who skipped on bus and racer who took the subway
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A statement from the race organisers read: “The Mexico City Sports Institute informs that it will proceed to identify those cases in which participants of the XL Mexico City Marathon Telcel 2023 have demonstrated an unsportsmanlike attitude during the event and will invalidate their registration times.
“This great event not only represents an outstanding celebration for all the inhabitants of the capital, but also an occasion to reaffirm the transcendental values of sport.”
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It's far from the first time the marathon has been blighted by cheating claims. In 2017 nearly 6,000 runners were DQ'd, followed by 3,090 the next year.
It still holds World Athletics Gold Label Status, though, the second highest status awarded to road running events by the governing body – who have backed organisers.
"It is always disappointing to hear that people choose to cheat in our sport, such as the cheating that occurred in the mass race at the Mexico City Marathon on 27 August," a spokesperson said.
"However, many race organisers use mass timing detection systems in today's races and their effectiveness can be seen with the race organisers of this event who had the proper checkpoints in place, and have taken appropriate action by swiftly disqualifying all athletes who chose to cheat."
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