It turns out that sports are just war by peaceful means. Incentives matter, and some people play to win.
First, the WSJ writes about qualifying for competitive marathons:
" a subset of long-distance races ... begin high in the mountains and pitch participants downhill. They’ve exploded, partly as a way for runners to notch quicker times that qualify them for the pinnacle of distance races, the Boston Marathon.
Critics call it a shortcut that edges better runners out of big events. Downhill enthusiasts have a message for them: Get over yourselves, and if you think it’s so easy, try it.
About 2,000 invitees to last year’s Boston Marathon made it in by running races that were at least 2,000 feet downhill.
Boston requires most runners to hit times that vary based on age. Because of the race’s popularity, there are thousands of runners who qualify and still don’t get to be among the 30,000 participants.
“To find out that there are people who will maybe bump me off the race who ran 6,000 feet downhill kind of pisses me off,” said Chrysostom, who finished the Myrtle Beach Marathon in under three hours and figures he’s on the cusp of getting into Boston. "
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And here's another shocker, from the BBC:
Cheating scandal rocks world stone skimming championships by Benjamin Russell
"The world stone skimming championships have been rocked by a cheating scandal, after several competitors were disqualified for tampering.
More than 2,200 people, from 27 countries, attended this year's event on the tiny island of Easdale off the west coast of Scotland.
Rules state that stones must come from naturally occurring island slate, however some were found to have been ground into a "suspiciously circular" shape to help them bounce on water.
Organiser Dr Kyle Mathews told BBC News that the offenders had "held their hands up" and apologised."
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