70-Year-Old LA Marathon Runner Disqualified For Cheating On Record-Setting Run

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – A 70-year-old East Los Angeles man who set an unofficial world record at the L.A. Marathon in March has been disqualified for cheating.

Back in March, Dr. Frank Meza allegedly ran the 26.2-mile race from Dodger Stadium to Santa Monica in 2 hours 53 minutes 10 seconds, the fastest time ever for a man his age, according to the Los Angeles Times.

However, officials with Conqur Endurance Group, which operates the marathon, say they reviewed footage from video cameras along the race route which showed that the retired physician left the course for a portion of his run, and that his time during one stretch was so fast as to be impossible.

His time during one 5K segment of the marathon would have been faster than the current 5K world record for the 70-74 age-group, Conqur wrote in a June 28 statement announcing his disqualification.

"After an extensive review of original video evidence from official race cameras and security cameras at retail locations along the race course, Conqur Endurance Group has determined that Dr. Frank Meza violated a number of race rules during the 2019 Skechers Performance Los Angeles Marathon, including re-entering the course from a position other than where he left it," Conqur wrote. "The video evidence is confirmed by a credible eyewitness report and our calculation that Dr. Meza's actual running time for at least one 5K course segment would have had to have been faster than the current 70-74 age group 5K world-record [an impossible feat during a marathon]."

On Monday, Meza denied cutting the course. He told the Times he briefly left the race route to find a bathroom.

Meza has faced controversy over his running times in several previous marathons, the Times reports. The California International Marathon in Sacramento disqualified him twice, in 2014 and 2016, for irregular splits. He was then banned, the Times said.