This is a story of how cheating can go horribly wrong. In the recent St.Louis marathon in the US, 26 year old Kendall Schler was the first to cross the finish line in a time of about 2h 50m. The problem however was that she hadn't actually run the full 26.2 miles and had taken a short cut. While she was seen starting the race, her chip wasn't recorded at any of the other 5 timing mats out along the course.
The actual winner came in a few minutes later with the lead bicycle.
Schler was subsequently disqualified and it was later found that she had also cheated in 2014 when she finished in 3rd place in 3:13. That time had qualified her to run in the Boston Marathon next Monday and that has now been nullified.
As you can see in the video clip below, she looks a bit 'sheepish' after crossing the line...a bit like 'Opps!....I finished too soon' ;o)
Perhaps it's a case of she wanted to get a good time to qualify again for Boston but made the mistake of finishing too high up the field? Perhaps if she had finished just inside the top 10, she might have got away with it. Now her name is splattered across the media in the USA. The story has been covered by the Huffington Post, USA Today, Washington Post, New York Daily News and a host of other outlets.
It could end up being a costly mistake for Schler. At any time in the future, if a prospective employer looks up her name then this is what they will see. Not exactly the best thing to have on your CV.
Another report on NPR.
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