The winner of the Orange County marathon was disqualified over a tiny mid-race act that was caught on camera.
Esteban Prado competed in the Orange County Marathon which took place on Sunday (May 5) in California.
According to ABC 7, the 24-year-old maintained the lead for most of the race and finished in 2 hours, 24 minutes and 54 seconds.
He spoke to NBC Los Angeles about his preparations for the sports event and revealed that he trained extensively for about four months, averaging 100 miles per week.
Prado's father noticed his son was thirsty during the race and decided to bike alongside him to hand him water. Video footage obtained by NBC Los Angeles shows Prado receiving water on three different occasions.
However, by accepting the water from his dad, he unknowingly participated in "unauthorized assistance" as runners were only allowed to receive water from the designated hydration stations along the route.
Race director Gary Kutschar issued a statement explaining that Prado was disqualified for the act, writing: “During yesterday’s Hoag OC Marathon, we were forced to disqualify a participant after it was confirmed they 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," they added.
Prado explained that he was new to running marathons as this was only his second one so he was not familiar with the rules.
The race director called him after he won to inform him that another competitor saw him get a water bottle during the race.
"The only person that could see me within range was second place," he told ABC 7.
Due to the disqualification, Jason Yang, a 33-year-old from California, was awarded first place after he finished 17 seconds behind Prado’s mark. It was his third marathon win.
Yang took to Instagram to applaud officials for taking swift action and blasted Prado for not apologizing amid the controversy.
“The marathon bike workers saw and took videos of him getting bike support and I was asked about it, and I told them exactly what I saw,” he wrote. “My thoughts on the matter? There’s a reason personal bike support is not allowed in ANY marathon race if you’re competing for a medal and/or prize money.
"It’s quite absurd Esteban Prado isn’t apologizing to everyone that competed and still seems to think he won the race fair and square. I think the race director made the right decision,” he continued.
Yang also claimed that assistance from a bike allows runners to “keep your stride” and shields them from the wind “on a day where there was 13MPH wind".
The disqualified man is adamant that he’s still the true winner of the race.
“You get no money or anything. 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,” he said. “I really got nothing out of it. I know I won.”
Prado won't be able to use his final race time to qualify for future races. According to ABC7, he may run his third marathon in the fall and plans to follow all the rules.
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