Two world-class marathoners have been banned by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) for six months, after an investigation concluded that the two knowingly swapped bibs in a recording-breaking race.
Camilo Santiago (of Spain) ran under the name of Iván Zarco Alvarez (of Honduras) at the 2021 Itelligence Citylauf Invitational Marathon in Dresden, Germany. The time of 2:17:46 would have broken the Honduran national record.
The day after the race, the Spanish media outlet, Soy Corredor, published an article accusing the two runners of swapping bibs. Photos from the race of Santiago wearing Zarco’s number confirmed their suspicions.
Santiago wrote a series of Tweets admitting to the bib swap but maintained that it was not done with any “malicious intent.” He noted that Zarco was experiencing a plantar fasciitis flare-up, so the Honduran decided not to run the marathon.
The runners claimed that Santiago’s bag was missing, which had his race number, so they told the race officials that Santiago would race with Zarco’s bib. The organizers later stated that, “No official would have indicated that an athlete could swap race number … and there were race-number printing facilities at the starting point of the marathon.”
The AIU—an independent organization that monitors integrity issues (including doping) within track and field and road racing—said the athletes violated a series of codes, including the obligation to act with “utmost honesty” and promptly report any known violations.
Santiago only admitted to the change in race numbers after the infraction was made public. The Spaniard has competed internationally at the 2018 World Half Marathon Championships and owns a marathon best of 2:09:56—considerably faster than Zarco’s PR of 2:18:19.
In the midst of the investigation, Zarco competed at the Tokyo Olympic Games in the marathon, finishing in last place by more than 10 minutes with a time of 2:44:36. Although he didn’t achieve the Olympic standard of 2:11:30 to qualify, Zarco was invited to run as part of the International Olympic Committee’s “universality places,” which are spots given to athletes in smaller countries to encourage sports development. Zarco was born in Spain but switched nationalities to represent Honduras in early 2020.
According to the AIU, “Mr. Zarco had a chance of participating in the Tokyo Olympic Games with Honduras if he obtained a good time in Dresden.” The Honduran athletics federation applied for a spot in the Games after the record-breaking race, which was initially denied due to the outstanding bib swap allegations, but then reversed when Zarco appealed the decision.
Both athletes’ suspensions are only six months, as opposed to a year, since they eventually admitted to their wrongdoing. They will be eligible for competition again on August 8, 2023.
Theo Kahler is the news editor at Runner’s World. He’s a former all-conference collegiate runner at Winthrop University, and he received his master’s degree in liberal arts studies from Wake Forest University, where he was a member of one of the top distance-running teams in the NCAA. Kahler has reported on the ground at major events such as the Paris Olympics, U.S. Olympic Trials, New York City Marathon, and Boston Marathon. He’s run 14:20 in the 5K, 1:05:36 in the half marathon, and enjoys spotting tracks from the sky on airplanes. (Look for colorful ovals around football fields.)
