One foot in front of the other.
I’m certain that most triathletes have, at one time or another, joked about one or more of the following:
Wearing fins during the swim leg of a race.
Strapping a boat motor to your back.
Holding on to the official’s/media cars or motorcycles during the bike.
Taking a taxi during the run.
Taking a short cut.
Only doing one loop of a two loop course.
This is by no means a comprehensive list of jokes about cheating, but it’s a start. But, I always just assumed that they were just that, jokes, until my often mentioned friend J, sent me the following: CLICK HERE FOR LINK.
If that article is true, and Frank Cardia or “Finman” truly did what he is rapidly being proven to have done, USAT should step in and take action. As for the area of general cheating (i.e. drafting), I will be a bit more candid and understanding.
During the NYC Triathlon this year, I found it all but impossible to completely avoid drafting. This was not because I was looking to draft, but because slower riders were riding on the left and taking up the entire lane. Therefore, according to USAT rules and definition of drafting, I would guess that 90+% of everybody in the NYC tri this year was guilty of drafting. If it is done on purpose, however, drafting in a non-drafting race is just plain cheating. In my first triathlon ever, I drafted for about a half mile, because I didn’t know any better, only to find out later that it was illegal and I have not done it since.
For additional discussions of “finman” here is a link to Slowtwitch Forums on the topic:
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/Slowtwitch_Forums_C1/Triathlon_Forum_F1/IM_Florida_Finman_P2075494/
HAVE YOU SEEN CHEATERS IN TRIATHLON??
[Hat tip: J]
Thanks so much for visiting my site! My name is Brandon Wood and I am the social media manager and a customer service rep for Newton Running. This site and podcast follow my adventures on the way to competing in and training for all kinds of endurance events, especially triathlon and running. Click the "About Me" tab for more info!
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Unless he wins or takes an age category prize, it doesn’t bother me in the slightest. I might be one place further back if he were to beat me but if I was 1021st rather than 1020th it isn’t going to worry me.
He’s only cheating himself. It doesn’t take anything away from anyone else’s achievement. I have met a couple of people who claim to have run races I know for a fact they didn’t. I hear them telling others but I don’t say anything. If they want to lie then its their business.
I understand your stance, but I must respectfully and strongly disagree. Training for something like that is something that brings it’s own badge of honor, as you know. Not only do people like this disgrace those who worked hard on their swim, or worse yet, exited the water at 2 hours 19 minutes and 59 seconds, but he steals any honor from a sport that is about the triumph of the individual.
I get that he won’t really affect my performance, but people like that will do a great deal to tarnish a sport that I have grown to love. Cheating is a slippery slope, as we’ve seen in cycling. There, the cheaters are always one step ahead of the testers. I would prefer if triathlon could stay pure at the very least at the age group level. Remember, one drop of oil can poison a million gallons of water.
I was in this race-Florida IM 2008. What a complete and utter jerk.
Congrats to you for racing the honest way!
Great post Brandon. I must say that your metaphor about one drop of oil seems to be the most potent one here. In this instance, an average age grouper cheated so he could finish – not win. But, cheating is unacceptable in any form. And indeed, the slope is too slippery to risk even putting one toe over the edge. It doesn’t matter to me that he cheated, he’s cheating himself. But it DOES matter to the health and longevity of the sport because if one open cheater is allowed to continue, then anyone who has ever considered cheating WILL assume they can try.
Best to nip it now and keep the sport as clean as possible.
The drafting issue is dodgier. There are times when cyclists get bunched up but I never felt like at IM Wisconsin, anyone was “drafting” we were passing one another and keeping our distance – even on the hills. I did however experience someone drafting off of me on a windy course at a half ironman I did. No marshals rode by and I didn’t know what to do. This guy was behind me drafting for a good 7 miles into the wind. It made me mad but I didn’t want to risk starting a fight out there alone on the course – I was intimidated. Eventually I slowed down so much “to stretch” that he would have had to blatantly admit he was drafting if he hadn’t passed me, so pass me he did. I kept my distance from there to the end and avoided him the rest of the day. I had no respect when I saw him at the finish line – all I could think was “there’s the cheater – yes he finished but not on his own.”
Drafting and passing rules in general are tricky. In IM Wisconsin, there was a guy at one point, who literally took 3 minutes to execute a passing move on me (a far cry from the allowed 15 seconds). He began by coming up on my wheel for about 30 seconds and drafting, then moving and slowly riding up beside me. Eventually he completed the move to where it was my responsibility as the overcome rider to create distance.
I would say that you are well versed enough in the rules to call out someone who is blatantly breaking them, like your drafter. Maybe you can just inform them that drafting is not legal and that he needs to pass or back off. He may not know, which could be the case if it was his first race (again, I was unaware of drafting rules in my first ever tri, and knowingly drafted).
I also think though that there should be more marshals in some races. Especialy as the courses get longer.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Brandon Wood and Steven Platt. Steven Platt said: RT @IronBrandon Unacceptable http://digg.com/u1DPPb [...]
This is crazy. I’ve never seen somebody cheating but there are rumors out there. DON’T CHEAT!
[...] This post was Twitted by stplatt [...]
Here is another question (Kind of a pet peeve of mine)
When a Race says, mp3, iPod, radios NOT allowed on course, and you see plenty of people with them (on the run portion, never seen anyone with them on the bike)
Is that cheating?
Is that giving an advantage to the competitor?
Should you take down the race numbers and turn them in?
Kevin,
I totally understand the Ipod thing. I do think, however, that there is a line between cheating and breaking the rules. In the case of Ipods during a triathlon, this is breaking a rule that was put in place, not because it gives one athlete an advantage over another, but rather for safety reasons. And, for that matter, I think it’s not as big a deal on the run as it is on the bike.
As for taking down numbers and such; I believe that athletes turning in other athletes for rules violations is a slippery slope that could bring on a new form of cheating (what if I were trying to beat you and turned you in saying, “hey, Kevin broke rule X”). I do however, think it is well within our rights, if not responsibility to inform athletes that are blatantly breaking the rules, to correct what they’re doing, ESPECIALLY if it is detrimental to the other athletes (i.e. riding left, passing right, headphones, etc.). A little bit of self governing goes a long way in my opinion.
Great article (Thank J for finding it). In regards to cheating, as our sport grows, this is only going to become more apparent – growing pains I guess. I appreciate what Simon says in Post 6. Our sport is such a mental challenge as well as a physical challenge, if someone finishes 1020 and a honest ATHLETE finishes 1021, not knowing what motivates people, what if the honest ATHLETE finishing 1021st had a personal goal and missed that goal because of one persons cheating. What doesn’t affect one person, may mean the world to another. What about the cheating that others don’t see, perhaps the honest ATHLETE would have finished 999 instead of 1021, would that change how someone may feel?
The bigger question to all this is:
What can we as honest ATHLETES do to prevent and stop this? RD’s need to be aware of this issue and can’t be afraid or intimidated and DQ these individuals, could there be an outcry? Sure the cheaters will be mad and not enter that race again, to that I say good!!!
Well, I was at Wisconsin also and I was kinda appalled at the amount of cheating I saw.
Drafting – Plenty of it. Almost everyone, but some were VERY blatant. Must admit I even took a wheel or when going up hill, but that was more to prevent coming to a dead stop due to the general lack of bike handling – riding skill (not mine)
Outside Assistance – It was my understanding only aid volunteers were allowed to render assistance. If I had know that people were going to accept aid from bystanders and get paced by their girlfriend-carrying-gel-on-a-bike during the run then I would have stopped for that beer at mile 13.5!
The overall problem with cheaters is the US mentality that something is only wrong if you get caught, and even then most have no shame. Next time you have a drafter, have some fun. Hit your brakes!
Good call Jay! I forgot about the outside assistance thing! It was amazing seeing people on the loop portion of the Ironman Wisconsin bike course pulling off to the side in parking lot’s and getting whatever they needed from wives and/or girlfriends! The only thing I did was stop to give my wife a kiss, and while that may have lifted my spirits, it certainly did nothing to replenish my electrolytes!
I just think it is really sad that the guy in the article is a father of 2. Not exactly a great example.
Yet – he was caught. That was his biggest mistake. I believe that a lot of our competitors do cheat an various ways and that is something we won’t be able to change.
Therefore it is important that those of us who love our sport do our best to swim, bike, run ahead as a positive example.
Rock on.
I say this dude deserves a lifetime ban from any USAT or IM race. Our sport is largely self-policed, so when someone blatantly breaks the rules, they should be punished accordingly.
I was thinking that also. Especially since this is something SO ridiculously blatant as fins. I mean, FINS!!!!! COME ON!
Hey Brandon – didn’t read this until today, but I have a couple of parallels to draw in road racing and wonder what you think about them…
1. Cutting corners on turns in a road race – Remember how the Queens Half had like 61 turns, well, I saw more than a few people who I was running with climb onto the sidewalk on almost every turn…some more blatant than others, but I was somewhat irritated and furious that they were cutting corners and running a shorter course. What do you think?
2. Bandits who run in big road races especially marathons and more especially those who bandit races with qualifications like Boston Marathon. I for one think they hurt the sport on so many levels but what do you think?
On cutting corners:
I think that some would say, “What difference does a corner make?”, and I get that point, IF it’s only one corner. But it never is just one. I think a good analogy is rolling hills or “rollers”. When I see a big hill coming, I know what’s there and what I am going to have to do to wisely climb. However, with rollers, we tend to just treat them as “little hills”. However, when you step back and look at rollers as one big hill, then all of a sudden you have a BIG (cumulatively speaking) hill that you have just attacked hard and fast. Cutting corners is no different. One corner may seem like nothing at the time, but they have the ability to cut a significant distance off of the race, and also off of the honor of competition.
On bandits:
My problem with this has a couple of layers. Whenever we enter a race, part of the fee goes to cover insurance during the event. If someone who is not registered gets badly injured, all of a sudden you have not only what could be a major emergency, but a hefty lawsuit as well. Also, races are staffed and supported for the number of entrants, not the entrants PLUS bandits! I think that bandits can clog, what are most likely already congested lanes of travel. If anyone needs proof of how crowded a race can be, just go to ANY NYRR race in Central Park. I have yet to run a race in CP where I not gone less than .10 miles further than the distance due to all the bobbing and weaving you have to do.
Please see article I am putting up a link for, Milwaukee had its Lakefront Marathon last weekend. This event is USATF sanctioned. The original First Place women as it was discovered after the race that she took water from a spectator between aid stations, was DQ’d. This moved the second place finisher to First. Well now (and one of my pet peeves) the new first place finisher as it was discovered had used her iPod when she thought she wasn’t in contention. MP3 players are allowed at this event, unless you will be running for placement as the USATF rules clearly states.
http://tiny.cc/7YIX2
I seem to be the only one but for me, whilst the guy is a moron, its not something I would get worked up over. Its easy to attack because its so visible. Many others will be cheating. Steroid use is high but amatures rarely get tested but if some idiot wants to risk his life tp gain an advantage, I’m not going to lose sleep.
The concept of cheating is an odd thing really. It assumes a level playing field but it isn’t, is it. Most of us might obey the laws but we don’t come into the race equal. Some of us have personal trainers, can afford weekly massages to aid recovery, others can afford to go away to training camps, some rent very expensive wheels and I have a friend who goes away to train at altitude. I can’t afford most of this stuff. Is that fair? Am I truly testing myself against others when I race tomorrow or am I racing myself?
Cheers all,
Simon