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
Former Member
I imagine there was prize money involved.
That might make it a felony.
Yes, it does. It happened recently in a fishing tournament where the prize was a boat. Guy was slipping lead weights into his fish. Got caught when one of his (live) fish was put into a tank and sank to the bottom like a rock.
That is almost as bad as wearing an unapproved swimsuit with a modesty panel in it.
Btw, what the heck is a modesty panel? I'm not up on suits, and I keep seeing reference to this, no idea what it is.
ETA: In my arena, a modesty panel is a piece of wood or metal attached to the front of a desk to hide the user's legs. Can't see one of those fitting in a swim suit.
It is very unfortunate, but I have come across several people who have purposefully falsified their birth dates in Masters swimming. Don't do it, at least while I'm registrar, because you will likely be suspended for some time.
I guess they were changing their birth dates to be older. Not many of us who want to lie about their age to be older.
Nope. No $$$ involved.
The race may not have had prize money, but the jewelry prizes might have been pretty valuable.
Also, if both women are actually pro athletes (which they might be; lots of pros apparently do this race), the woman who took the second-place podium spot, with photos and prizes, without actually having won it may have wrongfully received incentives from her pro sponsor for getting on the podium.
And their actions threaten the race's reputation and prestige, which is also pretty valuable. People aren't going to compete just to get into the race, and pros are not going to attend it even though it doesn't offer cash prizes, if it's just some rinky-dink local race with unreliable results. So I can totally understand the race director's wanting to throw the book at them to protect him/her/itself against such shenanigans.
It's a little surprising the DA thinks his office has time and resources to prosecute it, but that's his political call.
I always felt like modesty panels enhanced (framed) the body part in question instead of hiding it! Just my 2cents!
Where can I buy some of these modesty panels?
I imagine there was prize money involved.
That might make it a felony.
Nope. No $$$ involved.
They returned the coveted belt buckle, pendant and necklace that came with second place
Felony might be a wee bit harsh...
from the Denver Post article:
Charging the women criminally is going too far, said Vail athlete Sheryl Miller, a friend of Lyall's and Brazelton's and a longtime Leadville Trail 100 racer.
Miller said Brazelton could not race because of an injury and didn't want to waste the $250 fee.
"Wendy and Katie are passionate about this sport, and it was never about doing anyone harm or doing anything wrong. It was about getting an opportunity to race a great race," said Miller, who will race her 10th Leadville Trail 100 this summer and finished sixth in the 40-to-49 group last year. "I don't think it helps the organizers to make this such a big deal. They should just deal with it with Wendy and Katie directly, or make them wear a modesty panel at the very least."
Well, it's not an exact quote, there might be an extra phrase in there at the end.
