Rosie Ruiz at the finish line of the Boston Marathon, April 21, 1980

Rosie Ruiz Vivas (born 1953, Havana, Cuba) is a Cuban American runner who on April 21, 1980 ostensibly came in as the first place female competitor in the 84th Boston 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. Image File history File links Rosie_ruiz. ... Image File history File links Rosie_ruiz. ... 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... This article is about the Cuban city. ... A Cuban-American is an immigrant to the United States from Cuba. ... April 21 is the 111th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (112th in leap years). ... See also: 1979 in sports, other events of 1980, 1981 in sports and the list of years in sports. // Auto Racing Stock car racing: NASCAR Championship - Dale Earnhardt Buddy Baker won the Daytona 500 CART Racing - Johnny Rutherford won the season championship Indianapolis 500 - Johnny Rutherford Formula One Champion - Alan... The 100th running of the Boston Marathon, 1996 The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon sporting event hosted by the city of Boston, Massachusetts, on Patriots Day, the third Monday of April. ... Modern day marathon runners The word marathon refers to a long-distance road running event of 42. ...

There was suspicion from the beginning: 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. Soon, race officials learned that Ruiz had possibly cheated in the New York City Marathon six months earlier in order to qualify for the Boston Marathon. Freelance photographer Susan Morrow reported seeing her on the subway during the New York race, apparently having sprained her ankle. Morrow rode with her to the finish and escorted her to the medical treatment area. She lost touch with Ruiz after that, but came forward when the news of Ruiz's dubious Boston win broke. New York Marathon officials speculated that volunteers at the first aid area may have mistakenly marked her down as a finisher, thus qualifying her for the Boston Marathon. NYC Marathon Promophoto/ Copyright: NYRR. The New York City Marathon is an annual marathon foot-race run over a 26. ... A rapid transit, underground, subway, tube, elevated, or metro(politan) system is a railway — usually in an urban area — with a high capacity and frequency of service, and grade separation from other traffic. ... First aid is a series of simple, life-saving medical techniques that a non-doctor or layman can be trained to perform. ...

Eventually, race officials decided to strip Ruiz of her 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. To this day, Ruiz has not officially finished a sanctioned marathon. Jacqueline Gareau breaks the tape at the 2005 Boston Marathon. ... This article needs cleanup. ... Statue of Fred Lebow located in Central Park, New York City Fred Lebow (June 3, 1932 - October 9, 1994) (born: Fischel Lebowitz) was an avid road runner and founder of the New York City Marathon. ... For the Smashing Pumpkins song, see 1979 (song). ...

Theories Behind the Hoax

In 2006, the Game Show Network aired a documentary on the marathon scandal. In it, marathon officials and other experts offered up their opinions on what actually happened. The most widely held theory is that Ruiz did not mean to win the race, merely to finish with a respectable time. It is believed that after Ruiz was mistakenly awarded a qualifying finish time in the 1979 New York Marathon, she was unable to admit the mistake to her boss, who was so excited by Ruiz's qualifying time that he offered to pay her expenses to Boston. On the day of the 1980 Boston Marathon, Ruiz is believed to have walked from her hotel to Kenmore Square, one mile from the finish line. She is thought to have jumped in too early, not realizing she was ahead of all the female runners. This is a list of television-related events in 2006. ... The Game Show Network logo (1997-2004) The Game Show Network Logo (1994-1996) The Game Show Network (now known as GSN - The Network for Games) is an American cable television and direct broadcast satellite channel dedicated to game shows, reality shows, and interactive television games. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The New York City Marathon is an annual marathon foot-race run through the five boroughs of New York City. ... Nickname: City on the Hill, Beantown, The Hub (of the Universe)1, Athens of America, The Cradle of Revolution, Puritan City, Americas Walking City Location in Massachusetts, USA Counties Suffolk County Mayor Thomas M. Menino(D) Area    - City 232. ... View of the Citgo sign in Kenmore Square Kenmore Square is a square in Boston, Massachusetts near Fenway Park, consisting of the intersection of several main avenues, (including Beacon Street and Commonwealth Avenue) as well as several other cross streets, and Kenmore Station, a T stop. ...

Her inability to recall prominent landmarks along the race course and her unfamiliarity with common marathoning terms (such as intervals and splits) not only gave rise to doubts to the veracity of her victory, but also revealed that she likely had not planned to steal the first position. The thinking was that a person who planned to impersonate the victor would have studied these things and been ready to answer such common questions. Ruiz's lack of "preparation", coupled with the revelations of her situation in New York, have led many to the conclusion that she merely jumped in the race sooner than she intended.

After the race, there were those who accused race organizer Will Cloney of prolonging his investigation in a cynical attempt to draw attention to the marathon. Cloney brushed this aside by saying, "I'm not that smart," and few people gave this idea any credence.

Another theory is that Ruiz actually did run the entire course in record time, undetected by anyone until the finish. There is no "hard evidence" of cheating (e.g. photos of Ruiz jumping into the race), despite overwhelming circumstantial evidence against her. As of 2006, she continues to deny any cheating, insists she ran the entire distance in both races, and refuses to return her first place medal. Circumstantial evidence is lesbian sex with a huge glass dildo unrelated facts that, when considered together, can be used to infer a conclusion about something unknown. ... // December 1-December 15: The 15th Asian Games in Doha, Qatar December 10: 33rd Annual Honolulu Marathon December 10-December 17: FIFA Club World Cup in Japan December 31: The NRL will officially retire the nickname Chargers as the Gold Coast Titans take the field in 2007. ...

Life after the race

Ruiz quickly faded from the public eye after she was stripped of her title. Shortly after the race, she was fired from her job at New York-based Metal Traders, Inc. (the yellow Adidas shirt she wore during the race was a gift from her boss, emblazoned with the company's initials across the chest and the company name on the back). NY redirects here. ... Adidas AG is a German sports apparel manufacturer, part of the Adidas Group, which is the second largest sportswear manufacturer worldwide. ...

In 1982, Ruiz was arrested and briefly jailed for stealing $60,000 in cash and checks from a Manhattan real estate firm where she was employed. She spent a week in jail and was given five years' probation. Nineteen months later, after moving home to Florida, she was arrested for arranging to sell two kilos of cocaine to undercover agents in Miami. Ruiz spent 23 days in jail and received two years probation. 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Borough of Manhattan, highlighted in yellow, lies between the East River and the Hudson River. ... For other uses, see Cocaine (disambiguation). ... This article is about the city in Florida. ...

She was married in 1984. The marriage ended two years later, but Ruiz kept her husband's surname of Vivas, a name she still uses. She has lived in south Florida for years and currently resides in West Palm Beach. Several of her friends and acquaintances, apprised of her history, report having had no knowledge of her connection with the marathon scandal, despite having known her for years, according to the GSN documentary. 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... West Palm Beach is a city located in Palm Beach County, Florida. ...

In 1998, The Palm Beach Post reported that Ruiz was planning to run in the 104th Boston Marathon in 2000. Although there are no records of Ruiz attempting to enter the marathon that year, the rules of the Boston Athletic Association forbid a disqualified runner from racing again; Ruiz is banned for life from the Boston Marathon. In an interview for the 2006 GSN documentary, Ruiz said that she is no longer running due to an unspecified injury. Ruiz had the opportunity to run the following year's 1981 race and did not compete. 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... The Boston Athletic Association is a non-profit, organized sports association for the city of Boston, Massachusetts. ...

Ruiz has also said that she has been approached several times by parties offering her generous sums of money to write a book admitting her defeat and explaining exactly what she did on the day of the 1980 marathon. She has refused all purported offers, according to the documentary, and is planning to revert to the name Ruiz.

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. A joint press conference by U.S. President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair at the White House. ... // Athletics Mens 100 metres - Asafa Powell of Jamaica sets a new world record of 9. ...

The 1980 male winner was Bill Rodgers, who achieved his historic fourth consecutive win that year, but the news of his victory was overshadowed by the Ruiz scandal. Many have said that Rodgers and Gareau were cheated out of their glory, but both have maintained a graceful attitude in the face of the controversy, particularly Gareau, who has never publicly expressed anger over the situation. William Henry Bill Rodgers (born December 23, 1947 in Hartford, Connecticut) is an American runner who is best known for his victories in the Boston Marathon and the New York City Marathon in the late 1970s. ...

Because of the controversy surrounding her fraudulent victory, Ruiz remains one of the most well-known participants in the Boston Marathon, albeit for dubious reasons.

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 ChampionChip 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. An EPC RFID tag used for Wal-Mart Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is an automatic identification method, relying on storing and remotely retrieving data using devices called RFID tags or transponders. ... Runners compete in the 29th Marine Corps Marathon, October 31, 2004. ...

Parodies

• Ruiz was parodied on the Canadian sketch comedy television series SCTV by Andrea Martin playing a character named Rosie Mendoza.
• Her story was parodied in an episode of "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air"
• Her performance was also parodied in an episode of "The Simpsons" on the episode "New Kids on the Blecch" in which Bart jumps into the Springfield marathon late in the race to win.

• References

  • "The scam: It's been 25 years since Rosie Ruiz failed to fool the world", Boston Herald, April 15, 2005.
  • Anything to Win, Game Show Network series, episode "Rosie Ruiz and the Boston Marathon Scandal" (original airdate January 10, 2006)
  • Sport's Illustraded's Not-So-Great Moments in Sports Studio: Warner Home Video VHS Release Date: September 13, 1989 ASIN: 6301928563

  External links

  • Museum of Hoaxes - Rosie Ruiz Wins the Boston Marathon
  • Running Times - Rosie Ruiz Tries to Steal the Boston Marathon
  • Boston: The Canadian Story by David Blaikie