The world of sports, with all its games, is theoretically a realm of fair competition. Daily, many champions are awarded medals and trophies in recognition of their dedication and hard work, which have helped them surpass their peers. However, this arena is also home to many cheaters who resort to devious methods to claim victories and undermine the efforts of others. When caught, they face severe penalties, including lifetime bans from the sport. Rosie Ruiz is one of the most notorious cheaters in sports history, having deceived officials and spectators during the 1980 Boston Marathon, a prestigious annual event in the United States. Ruiz managed to run only the last kilometer of the race and claimed victory, securing the grand prize, until vigilant observers noticed the anomaly and reported it to the officials .
Rosie Ruiz was born in Havana in June 1953 and moved to Florida, USA, at the age of eight. She attended Wayne State College in Nebraska for three years before relocating to Manhattan, where she worked as a secretary for a commodities trading company. During the 84th Boston Marathon, Ruiz stunned the running world by being the first woman to cross the finish line in a record time of 2 hours, 31 minutes, and 56 seconds. This time made her the fastest woman in Boston Marathon history and the third fastest in any marathon overall. However, suspicions about her victory arose immediately because race officials did not see her at the checkpoints along the 42-kilometer course.
Doubts increased when Bill Rodgers, the men’s marathon winner who had just won the Boston Marathon for the third consecutive time, noticed that Ruiz could not recall many details that most runners know by heart, such as split times and course landmarks. Other observers noted that Ruiz was neither out of breath nor sweaty and that her thighs appeared less toned and muscular than expected for a world-class runner. Additionally, her stress test results later showed a resting heart rate of 76 beats per minute, whereas most marathon runners have a resting heart rate in the 50s or lower.
After the race, Rosie Ruiz told her interviewer, the renowned athlete Kathrine Switzer, who was one of the first women to run the Boston Marathon, that she had only participated in one other marathon in New York in 1979, completing it in 2 hours, 56 minutes, and 33 seconds. She claimed to have trained herself to improve her times but did not elaborate on her training methods. She also struggled to understand the training terminology Switzer used, such as interval training and workouts designed to improve running speed. Switzer, with a hint of irony, commented, “Rosie Ruiz, the mysterious woman winner we missed at all our checkpoints.”
Rosie Ruiz’s claims about the New York Marathon soon fell apart when Susan Morrow, an independent photographer, revealed to The New York Times that she had been on the subway with Ruiz during that marathon. Ruiz had told her that she left the race at the 16-kilometer mark due to an ankle injury. After leaving the subway, they walked to the finish line and saw runner Greta Weitz win the women’s race. Officials of the New York Marathon disqualified Ruiz’s time after reviewing video footage that showed she had not crossed the finish line, assuming Ruiz was injured.
Days after these revelations, Rosie Ruiz’s victory in the Boston Marathon was nullified. Race organizers based their decision on around 10,000 photographs taken along the last kilometer of the race, as well as information from media and observers along the route, and testimonies from people who reported seeing Ruiz enter Kenmore Square, about a kilometer from the finish line. Additionally, it was known that Wellesley College students, who are famous for cheering on runners as they pass through their campus, did not recall seeing her, and no other runners remembered seeing her either. Thus, the evidence confirmed that Canadian runner Jacqueline Gareau was the true winner of the race. Ruiz commented on the decision, saying, “I can honestly and without hesitation say that today was the second saddest day of my life, after leaving my parents in my home country 18 years ago.” Gareau, the marathon winner, expressed sympathy for Ruiz, stating she felt sorry for her and held no ill will.
Rosie Ruiz’s problems did not end with sports cheating. In 1982, she faced legal issues when she was charged with theft and forgery for stealing money and checks from a real estate company where she worked. She was sentenced to one week in jail and five years probation. In 1983, after returning to Florida, she was arrested again for attempting to sell cocaine to undercover officers at a Miami hotel and spent three weeks in jail.
Decades after the Boston Marathon scandal, Rosie Ruiz kept her medal, as another was made for the competitor who rightfully won. Over the years, she continued to assert that she had completed the marathon, but in 1996, Steve Marek, who had defended Ruiz for some time, revealed that months after the marathon, Ruiz admitted to him that she had indeed cheated. Marek told the Boston Globe, “She jumped out of the crowd and didn’t realize that the real winner hadn’t passed yet. Rosie was more shocked when she was counted as the first place finisher.” Rosie Ruiz passed away in 2019 at the age of 66.
