A Squamish triathlete has been disqualified from the Whistler Ironman race.
Julie Miller, who originally placed first in the women’s 40 to 44 division at the event on July 26, has now been listed on the official Ironman Canada results webpage as disqualified.
The win would have sent Miller to the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii.
A statement from Ironman sent to The Squamish Chief on Wednesday reads: "Based on the combination of photographs and timing data, it was determined Julie Miller did not complete the entire run course of Ironman Canada and was therefore disqualified.
"As a result of this, everyone in the F40-44 age group moved up one place, and the final Ironman World Championship slot in this age group has been subsequently awarded to another athlete."
American Susanne Davis is now listed as the winner of the women’s 40 to 44 division. Whistler’s Marla Zucht, listed as third in the updated results, now qualifies to go to Kona.
An issue with Miller’s run time was at the heart of the matter, after she completed the run without her timing chip. She was originally given a time of 3:17:00 but it was then corrected to 3:31:00 before it was ultimately disqualified.
Ironman rules state that competitors are responsible to have a timing chip on during the race or risk disqualification.
Miller told The Squamish Chief in a statement this week that she stands by her times and did nothing wrong.
“What I can tell you is that I know the race I ran throughout the whole course,” she said in an email. “I know how I performed and the training that went into that performance, and I am confident in the results as they were originally announced. I am an athlete, a mom and community member who lives by strong values. I am grateful to those who know me as a person of integrity, and who have remained strongly supportive of me.”
Since news of the disqualification, Miller said she has received “anonymous threatening emails and phone calls to my house.”
