Doctor, 70, who ran the LA Marathon in a record time is DISQUALIFIED for cheating after race officials determined his sub-three hour finish was ‘impossible’
- Frank Meza, 70, who competed in the 2019 race, clocked a record time of 2.53.10
- The ‘impossible’ time was more than an hour ahead of his nearest age group rival
- Race officials examined race tape and discovered he had left the race route and returned at a later point – but Meza protests he simply went to use the bathroom
- Suspicious runners looked into his past and discovered he had been DQ’d before
- Meza protests his innocence and claims he will run the 2020 race in sub-3 hours
A 70-year-old doctor who broke the Los Angeles Marathon record for his age group has been disqualified after race officials ruled his 2.53.10 time was ‘impossible’.
Frank Meza, who competed in the 2019 race, appeared to register a time so fast that he finished more than an hour and fifteen minutes ahead of his nearest rival – making it the fast time ever for a man of his age.
However, the miracle time raised one too many an eyebrow and a group of runners who operate a website dedicated to ensuring the integrity of the sport set out to prove he had cheated.
Frank Meza, who competed in the 2019 race, appeared to register a time so fast that finished more than an hour and fifteen minutes ahead of his nearest rival – making it the fast time ever for a man of his age
The miracle time raised one too many an eyebrow and a group of runners who operate a website dedicated to ensuring the integrity of the sport set out to prove he had cheated
On closer investigation, Meza’s web of lies appears to have quickly untangled as it emerged he had a history of disqualifications and bans from marathons in California.
Meanwhile, experts on a runners’ forum dissected his previous performance times and noted how radically his marathon times improved once he was in his 60s.
In one example, his marathon times improved from a 3:19:59 at the 2009 Santa Clarita Marathon to almost half an hour faster in 2019.
It was also noted that one of his 5k splits was so fast it would have broken the world record for that time in his age group – an impossible feat within a 26.2 mile distance.
L.A. Marathon officials reached the same conclusion after an investigation using video footage showed that Meza left the course and returned at a different point.
It was also noted that one of his 5k splits was so fast it would have broken the world record for that time in his age group – an impossible feat within a 26.2 mile distance
The footage showed Meza, a retired physician, stepped off the course and reentered at another point before the timing mat, officials said.
Marathon Investigation examined automatic camera photos from before the 25km timing mat which appeared to show Meza hopping onto the course shortly before the mat, so as to register an official time.
The runner maintained to an L.A. Times reporter that he had simply left the course to find a bathroom and returned at the same point.
Marathon organizers said in a statement: ‘After an extensive review… has determined that Dr. Frank Meza violated a number of race rules during the 2019 Skechers Performance Los Angeles Marathon, including re-entering the course from a position other than where he left it.
Despite this, Meza insists he plans to compete in the 2020 race and intends to show he can complete the marathon in a sub three-hour time
‘The video evidence is confirmed by a credible eyewitness report and our calculation that Dr. Meza’s actual running time for at least one 5K course segment would have had to have been faster than the current 70-74 age group 5K world-record [an impossible feat during a marathon].’
On Monday, Meza doubled down on his performance, and told the L.A. Times ‘I didn’t cut the course.’
But amateur sleuths looking into his history then discovered Meza disagree.
Meza, who was praised in Runner’s World in 2014 for running the California International Marathon (CIM) in a staggering 2:52:33, was found to have been retrospectively disqualified from the event in 2014 and 2016 and subsequently banned for life.
Despite this, Meza insists he plans to compete in the 2020 race and intends to show he can complete the marathon in a sub three-hour time.