Grabbing a Water Bottle Gets a Marathon Winner Disqualified

Stay hydrated, runners!

But do it within the rules, or you may find yourself disqualified.

Esteban Prado, 24, crossed the finish line first, with a time of 2:24:54, at the Orange County Marathon on Sunday. But he was disqualified for a drinking-related infraction.

It turns out, race organizers said, that he had been given bottles of water during the race by two men on bicycles, one of whom was his father.

It was fine that he was drinking. But there were two problems: how he got the drinks and who gave them to him.

Rule 241 in the U.S.A. Track & Field rule book says only “authorized persons” at official stations located along the course can provide liquids.

It was a further violation that the liquid suppliers were on bikes. “No official shall under any circumstances move beside an athlete while he is taking refreshment or water,” the rules say.

And the penalties are laid out in black and white: “A competitor who collects refreshment from a place other than a refreshment station is liable to disqualification by the referee.”