When “Wanting To Win” Goes Too Far
How far will go you to win? Ironman has barred Julie Miller from competing in Ironman branded races indefinitely and has D.Q.’d all her results. They are also nullifying her wins in 2013 and 2014. The reason?
The story and cover photo was featured on the New York Times.
Julie Miller is an age grouper from Canada who recently won her age group at the 2015 Ironman Canada.
Miller conquered the 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and 26.2 mile run, and finished the race in 10:49:03. The win also got her the much coveted slot for the Ironman World Championships in Kona.
We’ve all seen this before. If you’re a competitor and aiming to win your age group, you pretty much know everyone in your age group. Some even go as far as looking at the start list and searching for the names on facebook or google. Yep, that happens all the time.
The trouble began when Susanne Davis crossed the line thinking she finished first and grabbed the Kona spot (she eventually did) and got the surprise of her life when, during the awarding, her name was called when they were announcing the 1st runner up. Miller’s defense was that she lost her timing chip after the bike leg. She was eventually spotted in the pictures with only the velcro strap. The timing chip was missing. The race director then trialed the chips himself and found out that it’s virtually impossible for the chip to get dislodged in any way from the strap.
Despite numerous complaints during the race, the race director gave her the benefit of the doubt and let her win stay. It wasn’t long before they (race organizers) got a lot of emails from those involved and those who know that Miller cheated. The emails contained solid facts and even photos of Julie during the race. It became easy after that. All the race director / timing chief had to do now was compare her photos during the race to those running with her when the picture was taken. If she didn’t cheat, 2 things would add up. It’s either she’s too slow (which also meant it’s virtually impossible for her to achieve her finish time), or she ran a ridiculously fast negative split. The verdict was simple from that point. She didn’t complete the required distance.
Even with that evidence, she was given 3 days by the race director to show them how she did it. (the fast time / splits)
She couldn’t.
Julie Miller, aside from being banned from WTC races, also got banned for 2 years from Triathlon Canada. The ITU also has opened an investigation into the gold medal Miller won at its world championships in China last 2014.
Click here — for the full article from www.nytimes.com
