DQ'd for going too fast

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http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2014/nov/10/chickamauga-battlefield-marathon-winner-disqualifi/

Tabatha Hamilton was disqualified as the women's winner of the Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon held this past Saturday. The 31-year-old Trenton, Ga., resident crossed the final timing mat at 2 hours, 55 minutes, 39 seconds but had crossed the mat at 13.1 miles at 2:06.51, according to the Chattanooga Track Club.

Race officials determined that it was impossible for Hamilton to cover the last half of the marathon in 49 minutes, even though she told at least one person, when asked if she did the full marathon, that she ran all 26.2 miles.

She was removed from the official results Sunday night.

Contacted early this afternoon, Hamilton told the Times Free Press that no one had told her she had been disqualified, and she insisted again that she completed the full marathon. She disputed the reported time for her first 13.1 miles, saying that her husband was looking at his watch as she ran by and called out to her then that she was at 1:36:51.

Replies

  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,951 Member
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    It's not unheard of for timing tech to be wrong. Lot of flaws can be in data. Wonder what she has for proof of her performance.
  • davemunger
    davemunger Posts: 1,139 Member
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    Looked her up on Athlinks. She most recently completed the Talladega Half Marathon in 2:19 and the Chickamauga Chase 15k in 1:42. I don't think she's a sub-3-hour marathoner. She has no times on her record that suggest she can do it. Her other marathons are all 4+ hours.
  • SonicDeathMonkey80
    SonicDeathMonkey80 Posts: 4,489 Member
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    davemunger wrote: »
    Looked her up on Athlinks. She most recently completed the Talladega Half Marathon in 2:19 and the Chickamauga Chase 15k in 1:42. I don't think she's a sub-3-hour marathoner. She has no times on her record that suggest she can do it. Her other marathons are all 4+ hours.

    Yup, that was the first thing I did too haha :)
  • litsy3
    litsy3 Posts: 783 Member
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    If her version were true it would just be an extremely implausible massive negative split rather than a flat out impossible one.
  • litsy3
    litsy3 Posts: 783 Member
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    Reminds me of this guy: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/athletics/london-marathon/10780357/London-Marathon-fresh-cheating-claims-against-miracle-runner.html
    I overtook him in the second half of that same race and I can guarantee that *I* wasn't running at world record half marathon pace, and I was going faster than he was.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
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    SMH......
  • georgiaTRIs
    georgiaTRIs Posts: 231 Member
    edited November 2014
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    Well I think she is extremely faster than ever before or she did not do whole marathon. Why would someone do that? check with photographers they are all along the race. She would have to show up in a few of the pictures, especially running that fast. That is about the only she could prove she faster than any race she had ever been in before.
  • davemunger
    davemunger Posts: 1,139 Member
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    Well I think she is extremely faster than ever before or she did not do whole marathon. Why would someone do that? check with photographers they are all along the race. She would have to show up in a few of the pictures, especially running that fast. That is about the only she could prove she faster than any race she had ever been in before.

    It looks like it was a pretty small race so there may not have been many race photographers. I think the data we have already is plenty to disqualify her. People don't just go from running a 4-hour marathon to sub-3-hours in 6 months. It doesn't happen. No one has ever run a half marathon as fast as her second half, and even if, as she claimed, she ran the first half in 1:36, the difference between that and the 1:18 second half she claims is big enough to be absurd. Anyone in shape to run a 2:55 marathon would not run a 1:36 and 1:18. If you have that kind of ability, you also know how to run even splits.
  • brandiuntz
    brandiuntz Posts: 2,717 Member
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    Wonder if she cut the course without realizing it. She should have known something was wrong when she finished in that time. She should know she's not that fast and must have missed a turn or something.
  • gmcjing
    gmcjing Posts: 1 Member
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    I always run with a Garmin just so I'll have proof when I break a world record on the back half of a marathon. :P