It takes some nerve to attempt to pull a stunt like this. It takes DUMB nerve to pull it twice.
A 26-year-old woman who was thought to have won the GO! St. Louis Marathon has been disqualified after race officials determined she did not complete the entire course.
Kendall Schler is believed to have sneaked onto the course following the final checkpoint. She was the first woman to cross the finish line — ahead of the actual female division winner, Andrea Karl.
Schler apparently pulled the same trick last year, when she was believed to have finished third and qualified for the Boston Marathon. Lieberman said she contacted Schler on Wednesday and told her she would be disqualified unless she could provide photos of herself along the course. Schler did not, and so her times from both races were erased and her name was removed Thursday from the Boston Marathon’s online list of entrants.
So how did this super-villain of Marathon racing come to power? Simple.
Schler, from Columbia, Mo., did not have any times electronically registered from her runner’s bib. She covered the bib with a shirt, a violation of marathon rules, and had removed the timing strip from the bib each of the past two years, according to the Post-Dispatch.
In all seriousness, though, these are some gutless moves pulled by her. Unfortunately, the imposter got to cut the ribbon, accept the cash $1500 cash reward, and pose with former Olympian Jackie Joyner-Kersee after the race.
People dedicate their lives to winning marathons such as these, so for her to come in and steal the shine away from the rightful winner is just disgraceful.
That’s the one moment runners are thinking of during all of those hours training.
I’m happy she got caught just based off of principle. She’s 26… She can train like the rest of them and run the full marathon for real if she wants the glory.
H/T SN