Did HITS Napa 1/2 IM yesterday where the buoys were a bit hard to see in the overcast light. I’m a mop swimmer and I saw at least 10-15 people in my pod of swimmers cut off a buoy for a significant shortening of the course ……and this was just my pod. I’m sure that there were others in front and behind doing the same thing.
I’ll admit that I was tempted as I’m only human. But that lasted a millisecond before I heard someone’s mother (certainly not mine) saying, “You’re only cheating yourself.”
There were no lifeguards/monitors near that buoy and that was an rd’s responsibility. Still, people !, personal integrity !
When you consider the demographics of the sport though, it is very unsettling. That would make a certain percentage of the cheaters professionals like doctors, lawyers, accountants, and so on, not to mention teachers and others that we assume or hope won’t cut corners or cheat in their day jobs. Scary.
When you consider the demographics of the sport though, it is very unsettling. That would make a certain percentage of the cheaters professionals like doctors, lawyers, accountants, and so on, not to mention teachers and others that we assume or hope won’t cut corners or cheat in their day jobs. Scary.
Scary?
Not at all.
Imagine how they got where they are. All by only hard work and without cheating? LOL!!!
The % of dishonest people with questionable ethics is increasing the further you climb up the socio-economical ladder.
It’s no different than life, relationships and any other pursuit where there is something to gain. Dishonest people will do just about anything to gain an advantage. Maybe 1990 I saw my first blatant cheating with a pack of guys riding along like a sledgehammer through the field at Gulf Coast it was amazing. After that it was just more and more and from what I hear from friends still racing it’s a ridiculous plague at every race no matter if it’s a tiny little country bumpkin tri or the biggest show in the region.
A percentage of people cheat, and it’s probably a lot higher than we’d all like to admit. In some ways, most of us cheat. Do you speed in your car, tailgate, not use turn signals, etc.? Did you take that questionable deduction on your tax return? Did you fail to leave a tip for your server the last time you ate out? What about lust in your heart? I won’t even get into the cheating on Wall Street, which is apparently rampant. And politicians? Do you vote for a guy who is an obvious liar, who is cheating on his wife, or “works” the rules on gifts, etc.?
Accepting humans means accepting many of their faults, but doing your best at all times to be an example to others. So, do your races, don’t cheat and know you have done the right thing.
I don’t expect perfect behavior from anyone. I expect a lot of “sinning”, however. (FWIW, I’m an atheist.)
Anyway, cheating in a triathlon is hardly a high order sin. I’d worry a lot more about speeders since Americans kill thousands every year by speeding. No one has died because a racer cut the swim course, to the best of my knowledge.
What was the Chris Rock line? “A man is only as faithful as his options.”?
A lot of people are as ‘honest’ as the current level of enforcement… sad, but true. There is also a whole lot of rationalization that goes on and as previously mentioned personal integrity and honesty is a sliding scale, no one is at the start of it, we all rationalize our way part way out into the grey one way or another.
about half dozen years ago I did a small “sprint” tri, and I didn’t check the layout of all of the bouys ahead of race time. Unknowingly I cut past one (kinda like the side of a triangle). A life guard on a board told me (yelled to get my attention). I stopped, looked at the bouy I missed and swam back and around. Cost? maybe 100 - 150 meters. Still won the AG
Going back - a few decades, a racer I know quite well (same age) won the overall at a tri. The bike course was a spaghetti situation, multi loops, jogs, cut-offs, etc. He actually knew the course but, an “official” directed him through a small short cut. After he finished he had the integrity to double and triple check the map and what course the other guys actually rode. Turns out he paid the price for being out of the water first (ex-division 1 swimmer), and he was the first guy - and only guy directed through the shortcut.
He disqualified himself. No one would have known. Kinda like golf.
Some people do have integrity, some people do make honest (but stupid) mistakes (my example).
I’ll have to say unlike many posters, I don’t see many issues in the races I go to. But, I am mainly focusing on my race and not somebody else’s. I don’t need some trophy that I didn’t earn.
Enjoy the journey, and, let others take the paths they want to take (perhaps karma will catch up with them).
You didn’t cheat. Neither did countless others. Focus on that. Don’t be like the rest of the media and glorify/ obsess about the bad people in society.
I’m with you. I don’t get it either. I’m no saint, but I can’t imagine cutting a course in a tri. What’s the point? Especially if you’re MOP, all you’re doing is jumping a few spots in the rankings. You can’t even get a good measure of how fast you are, so no way to see if you’re improving…
