Rosie Ruiz Vivas ~ Marathon runner

Rosie Ruiz Vivas
(born 1953, Havana, Cuba) is an infamous Cuban American
Marathon runner who on April 21, 1980 ostensibly came in as the first place
female competitor in the 84th Boston Marathon, but who was later stripped of her
title when it was found that she had cheated.

The race

Ruiz completed the marathon with a record time of 2:31:56. However, race
officials determined that she had not completed the entire 26.2-mile course, but
had registered for the race and later jumped in from the crowd and sprinted to
the finish.

There was suspicion from the beginning, as no one had seen her running earlier
in the race, she did not appear in videotape footage, and some members of the
crowd reported witnessing her run into the race in the last mile. In addition,
her time of 2:31:56 was an unusual improvement, more than 25 minutes ahead of
her reported time in the New York City Marathon six months earlier. When asked
by a reporter why she didn't seem fatigued after the grueling race, she said, "I
got up with a lot of energy this morning." Soon, race officials learned that
Ruiz had possibly cheated in the New York marathon in order to qualify for the
Boston Marathon.

Freelance photographer Susan Morrow reported meeting her on the subway during
the New York race and accompanying her from the subway to the race. She lost
touch with Ruiz after that, but came forward when the news of Ruiz's dubious
Boston win broke. According to Morrow, she met Ruiz on the subway and together
they walked a distance to the finishing area, where Ruiz identified herself as
an injured runner. She was escorted to a first aid station and volunteers marked
her down as having completed the marathon, thus qualifying her for the Boston
Marathon.

Eventually, race officials decided to strip Ruiz of her Boston Marathon title
and named Jacqueline Gareau of Montreal, Canada the women's winner, with a time
of 2:34:28.

New York Marathon director Fred Lebow had rescinded Ruiz's 1979 finish earlier
that week, determining that Ruiz had not completed her first marathon, either.

Aftermath

Jacqueline Gareau was awarded a winner's medal at a press conference over a week
after the marathon. Her medal was bigger than the one that Ruiz had originally
received, equal in size to the larger men's medal. (Since the 1980 race, women
and men have been awarded medals equal in size.) In 2005, Gareau served as Grand
Marshal of the Boston Marathon, and in a special ceremony was allowed to
recreate her finish and break the tape.

As a result of the scandal, the Boston Marathon and several other races
instituted a number of safeguards against cheating that are still used today.
These include extensive video surveillance and the transponder timing RFID
system that monitors electronically when runners arrive at various checkpoints
on the course. These techniques have been used to identify other would-be
cheaters, notably "Jean's Marines", a group of charity runners who were caught
cutting the course during the 2005 Marine Corps Marathon.

Regards,

Gabby