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OC Marathon winner is disqualified for a very bizarre reason: 'We take these rules seriously'
The winner of the Orange County marathon in California was disqualified for accepting water during the race.
Esteban Prado's father noticed his son was thirsty and decided to bike alongside him to hand him water.
However, by accepting the water from his dad, Prado, 24, unknowingly participated in what is known as 'unauthorized assistance' as marathon runners are only allowed to get water from the hydration stations along the route.
'During yesterday's Hoag OC Marathon, we were forced to disqualify a participant after it was confirmed they received unauthorized assistance from an individual on a bicycle, in violation of US Track & Field rules and our race regulations,' race director Gary Kutschar said in a statement.
'We take these rules seriously to ensure fairness and the integrity of our event for all competitors.'
The winner of the Orange County marathon Esteban Prado (left) in California was disqualified for accepting water during the race from his father (right)
Esteban Prado's father gave his son water on three different occasions during the Orange County marathon
By accepting the water from his dad, Prado unknowingly participated in what is known as 'unauthorized assistance'
Prado maintained the lead for most of the race and finished in 2 hours, 24 minutes, 54 seconds. He told NBC Los Angeles he trained extensively for about four months, averaging 100 miles per week.
The disqualified competitor told ABC 7 that the water stations were not well managed.
'Whenever I got to the stations, the volunteers were like scrambling because I'm the only runner in sight, so they could barely see me at certain turns,' Prado told the outlet.
Video footage obtained by NBC Los Angeles shows Prado receiving water on three different occasions from his bicycle-riding dad.
Jason Yang was declared the new marathon winner following Prado's disqualification, who finished in 2 hours, 25 minutes, 11 seconds.
Prado said he was new to running marathons as this was only his second, and he wasn't familiar with the rules.
The race director called Prado after the race to inform him that another competitor saw him get a water bottle during the race.
'The only person that could see me within range was second place,' Prado told ABC 7.
But he told the outlet the title didn't matter, and that he still thought himself as the real winner of the race.
Prado (pictured) maintained the lead for most of the race and finished in 2 hours, 24 minutes, 54 seconds
Jason Yang (pictured) was declared the new marathon winner following Prado's disqualification, who finished in 2 hours, 25 minutes, 11 seconds
Yang took home his third marathon win after Prado was officially disqualified
'You get no money or anything. If he wanted that congratulations for that first place, if he really felt like he needed it, it's just for him at the end of the day,' Prado said. 'I really got nothing out of it. I know I won.'
Yang took home his third marathon win, and told NBC Los Angeles that although this is not the way he wanted to win,
'I think it should be an even playing field to be honest,' he said.