swimmer not runner wrote:
Could someone please explain in layman's terms why there is a suspicion that he cheated?
I think this is a fair request -- some of this can get a little wonky, and I'm sure there are a number of Rossi's friends who are reading this and trying to gauge the situation. Let me try to speak in total non-runnerese:
1. THE PHOTOS. At every marathon these days, there are several photographers set up at various locations throughout the course. Because only 1 out of 500 photos actually gets sold (I've run for decades and never met anyone who actually purchased one), the photographers are highly motivated to take as many photos as they can, in hopes they find a sucker who will buy one.
So when you think about the photos, keep in mind that they are taking pictures non-stop during the race. I'm sure they'd take a photo of a squirrel crossing the race course if they thought it'd buy a 8x10 glossy. This is why every other runner has multiple photos of them in multiple locations. You simply cannot avoid these photographers if you run the race. So if you're not in a photo, you are either Dracula or you didn't run in that race.
2. HIS PRIOR RACE TIMES. You've probably run a 5K before. Well, a marathon is 8.5 consecutive 5Ks. Imagine the fastest 5K you've ever run. Do you think you could do that seven and a half more times without stopping? If you don't think this is possible, then you should be highly, highly skeptical of Rossi's time, perhaps to the point of 100% disbelief.
3. THE 3:11 TIME/HIS FINISHING VIDEO. A 3:11 is not an elite marathon time, but it's no joke. If you go to a marathon and watch people finish in the 3:05 to 3:15 range, you're going to see almost exclusively fit, experienced runners. And they certainly will be exhausted at the finish line. If it's a warm day, it will be even worse -- the 3:10 finishers will be some of the most fit runners, and they will be near-dying at the finish line.
So, to give a personal example (and there are similar ones throughout this thread), I'm a 3:00 marathoner, with twenty years of race results to support my times, and there's no doubt that I could slow to a 3:11 under warm race conditions -- and I'm 6'1", 160 lbs, and a decade younger than Rossi. Rossi had none of this going for him, and he looks totally relaxed while finishing.
4. THE GARMIN DATA/SOCIAL MEDIA. As you're probably aware, there is a special breed of person these days who feels the need to share each of life's minor victories with the world via social media channels. I gather from the many links on this thread that Rossi was one of these types. Apparently, he conveniently omits any detailed summary or data relating to a race that, under any circumstance we could invent, would have been a major, once in a lifetime outlier event. I don't advertise my successes on social media, but if I ran the equivalent PR of Rossi, I would start my own blog just to let the world know how great I am.