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L.A. Marathon Disqualifies 70-Year-Old Runner for Alleged Cheating

Competitors run past the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion during the 2019 Skechers Performance Los Angeles Marathon on March 24, 2019. (Credit: Katharine Lotze / Getty Images)

The Los Angeles Marathon disqualified 70-year-old runner Frank Meza, saying that video cameras show he left the course for a portion of his record-setting performance in March and that his time during one stretch was so fast as to be “impossible.”

Though Meza has repeatedly denied cheating, he has come under scrutiny with the long-distance community questioning his finish in 2 hours 53 minutes 10 seconds — the fastest ever for a man his age.

Amid the accusations, officials with Conqur Endurance Group, which operates the marathon, began reviewing video from race cameras and security cameras at retail stores along the 26.2 miles from Dodger Stadium to Santa Monica.

The footage showed Meza, a retired physician, stepped off the course and reentered at another point, officials said.

Read the full story on LATimes.com.