Cheaters in a adult age group sport charged with felony
Former Member
Two top Colorado mountain-bike racers face felony criminal-impersonation charges after allegedly cheating in last year's Leadville Trail 100
Veteran endurance athlete Wendy Lyall, 36, used Katie Brazelton's entry number in the 2009 race, finishing second in the women's age 40-49 class.
"It probably would have gone unnoticed except the woman who did race came in second in her age group, and in front of a thousand people, one of them went up and stood on the podium and accepted the award and accepted the trophy and the prizes that went with it," race founder and organizer Ken Chlouber said.
www.denverpost.com/ci_15043329
Nope. No $$$ involved.
The race may not have had prize money, but the jewelry prizes might have been pretty valuable.
Also, if both women are actually pro athletes (which they might be; lots of pros apparently do this race), the woman who took the second-place podium spot, with photos and prizes, without actually having won it may have wrongfully received incentives from her pro sponsor for getting on the podium.
And their actions threaten the race's reputation and prestige, which is also pretty valuable. People aren't going to compete just to get into the race, and pros are not going to attend it even though it doesn't offer cash prizes, if it's just some rinky-dink local race with unreliable results. So I can totally understand the race director's wanting to throw the book at them to protect him/her/itself against such shenanigans.
It's a little surprising the DA thinks his office has time and resources to prosecute it, but that's his political call.
Nope. No $$$ involved.
The race may not have had prize money, but the jewelry prizes might have been pretty valuable.
Also, if both women are actually pro athletes (which they might be; lots of pros apparently do this race), the woman who took the second-place podium spot, with photos and prizes, without actually having won it may have wrongfully received incentives from her pro sponsor for getting on the podium.
And their actions threaten the race's reputation and prestige, which is also pretty valuable. People aren't going to compete just to get into the race, and pros are not going to attend it even though it doesn't offer cash prizes, if it's just some rinky-dink local race with unreliable results. So I can totally understand the race director's wanting to throw the book at them to protect him/her/itself against such shenanigans.
It's a little surprising the DA thinks his office has time and resources to prosecute it, but that's his political call.
