Over a third of the runners at the Mexico City Marathon have been disqualified after they cut out sections of the course - but the runners have said trackers were faulty.
Officials launched an investigation following complaints that some runners had used cars, public transport and bikes to cheat during the 26.2-mile race on August 27.
Tracking data then showed that thousands of the participants had not passed the 5km checkpoints that monitor if a runner has finished the event or not.
“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,” the organisers said in a statement to Marca.
“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.”
Despite the disqualification, participants told Runners World that they had not cheated but that the trackers were faulty and did not register at checkpoints.
The Mexico City Marathon is one of the most renowned in the world and expelled 6,000 runners in 2017 for cheating.
None of the elite runners in the race are believed to have been expelled.
