Kendall Schler was the first woman to cross the finish-line at the 2015 Go! St. Louis Marathon this past weekend.
Improving on her 3rd-place finish in 2014, Schler walked away on Sunday with the $1,500 cash-prize, but by Wednesday, U.S. Track and Field officials had ruled her victory as illegitimate.
In fact, it would appear that Schler didn’t even run the race, either this year or last.
Per the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Officials had determined Schler did not run the marathon in downtown St. Louis either year. She is believed to have slipped onto the course after the last checkpoint in an attempt to fool race officials into believing she ran the entire 26.2 miles. Officials said that Schler did not register any times on the route, and that a review of last year’s marathon photos failed to turn up images of her on the course.
As a result, her times have been erased, her spot in Boston vacated and she will no longer be allowed to run in the local organization’s events.
“It’s a difficult situation for everybody, including the people who run a fair race and don’t get the recognition they should receive,” said Nancy Lieberman, president of GO! St. Louis. “I said to her, ‘It looks like you perpetrated a fraud.’ I have nothing legitimate that says she officially started and ran 26.2 miles in 2014 or 2015.”
In light of Schler’s fraud, she has been disqualified for the 2015 Boston Marathon. Her 2015 Go! St. Louis title has been awarded to Andrea Karl, a doctoral candidate at Washington University. She finished in 2 hours, 54 minutes and 28 seconds.