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A drunk man in Mexico filmed himself pouring straight rum into runners’ drinks hours before the start of a marathon in Mexico.
In the clip, an unnamed man could be seen pouring a bottle of booze into plastic cups filled with healthy isotonic drinks at an unguarded hydration booth.
The incident took place in the early hours of 28 August, shortly before the race commenced. Watch the footage below:
In a video titled ‘hero or villain?’ the man slurred: “I'm going to pour some bloody Matusalem [rum] in, so they can show off...
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“Tomorrow everyone will be at their best, tomorrow, look, everyone at their best, bloody race it's going to be the best in the world. Tomorrow everyone is going to run fast like target shooting.”
The spiked drinks were discovered by event organisers who noticed something strange in the cups and removed them from the stands before the viral video came to light, the Government of Mexico confirmed on 29 August.
Officials said in a statement: “We have taken action on the matter so that this action does not go unpunished and this subject who attacked the athletes is punished with the full weight of the law."
This was after the Sports Institute of Mexico City (INDEPORTE) filed a criminal complaint with the attorney general’s office while requesting that an investigation be carried out by the nation’s cybernetic police in order to find the suspect.
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The man was later identified, according to the General Director of INDEPORTE, Javier Hidalgo Ponce, who said that the suspect was believed to be a ‘highly educated person with a high socioeconomic status’.
His actions were said to have had a ‘racist and classist' tinge to them that went against community organised activities.
Twitter users chose to criticise the event organisers while questioning the lack of vigilance at the booths during the hours leading up to the marathon.
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One user commented: “Who would think of leaving the glasses (out) like this the night before the event?” while another wrote: “They could have poisoned them and nobody would have found out. Regrettable."
The man will likely face prosecution for his attempted drink-spiking, which he carried out hours ahead of the Mexico City Marathon.
The water station was located at the marathon’s halfway point and could have endangered runners - 19,000 of whom took part - who would have been 21km into the race.
Aisha Nozari