- Esteban Prado was disqualified after taking water from his father during the race
- Runners will only be able to get water at the hydration points located along the route.
- Jason Yang took home his third marathon title after Prado’s disqualification
The winner of the Orange County Marathon, California, was disqualified for accepting water during the race.
Esteban Prado’s father noticed that his son was thirsty and decided to accompany him on his bicycle to bring him water.
However, by accepting water from his father, Prado, 24, unknowingly participated in what is known as ‘unauthorized assistance,’ since marathon runners can only obtain water from hydration stations along of the tour.
“During yesterday’s Hoag OC Marathon, we were forced to disqualify a participant after it was confirmed that he received unauthorized assistance from an individual on a bicycle, in violation of USA Track and Field rules and our race regulations. “said race director Gary Kutschar in a statement.
“We take these rules seriously to ensure the fairness and integrity of our event for all competitors.”
Orange County Marathon winner Esteban Prado (left) in California was disqualified for accepting water from his father during the race (right).
Esteban Prado’s father gave his son water on three different occasions during the Orange County Marathon
By accepting water from his father, Prado unknowingly participated in what is known as ‘unauthorized assistance.’
Prado held the lead for most of the race and finished in 2 hours, 24 minutes, 54 seconds. He said NBC Los Angeles He trained intensely for about four months, averaging 100 miles a week.
The disqualified competitor said ABC 7 that the water stations were not well managed.
“Every time I got to the stations, the volunteers were like fighting because I’m the only runner in sight, so they could barely see me on certain curves,” Prado told the outlet.
Video footage obtained by NBC Los Angeles shows Prado receiving water on three different occasions from his father who was riding a bicycle.
Jason Yang was declared the new winner of the marathon after the disqualification of Prado, who finished in 2 hours, 25 minutes, 11 seconds.
Prado said he was new to running marathons as this was only his second and he was not familiar with the rules.
The race director called Prado after the race to inform him that another competitor saw him pick up a water bottle during the race.
“The only person who could see me within range was the second-place finisher,” Prado told ABC 7.
But he told the outlet that the title didn’t matter and that he still considered himself the true winner of the race.
Jason Yang (pictured) was declared the new marathon winner following the disqualification of Prado, who finished in 2 hours, 25 minutes, 11 seconds.
Yang took home his third marathon victory after Prado was officially disqualified
You don’t receive money or anything. If he wanted that congratulation for that first place, if he really felt like he needed it, at the end of the day it’s just for him,” Prado said. ‘I didn’t really get anything out of this. I know I won.’
Yang took home his third marathon victory and told NBC Los Angeles that although this is not the way he wanted to win,
“To be honest, I think there should be a level playing field,” he said.