Running News Daily

High school cross-country runner disqualified for swearing

Michigan High School Cross-Country Championships, a runner was disqualified after cussing in disbelief at his second-place finish.

Parchment High School’s Garrett Winter passed a competitor during the final 100 metres of the race and celebrated by yelling “Holy f@#king s^*t, let’s go” as he crossed the line. You can check out the video below. Winter is the second runner to cross the line.

His disqualification has caused a stir online, but according to the National Federation of High School Sport (NFHS), the governing body for U.S. high school sports, states that “Unacceptable conduct by a competitor, failing to follow the meet rules and directions of a meet official, or using profanity that is or isn’t directed at someone will result in disqualification from the event.”

According to his Twitter, his coaches appealed the ruling, but it was upheld. Winter ran a 22-second personal best in the 5K race for a time of 15:27 – a time that he didn’t think was possible. He issued a Twitter apology on Monday night.

Many runners on Twitter are in disbelief over the ruling, as Shalane Flanagan once yelled a similar term after winning the 2017 New York City Marathon and no one batted an eye.

Since Winter’s disqualification, an online petition has gained traction to change Rule 4-6 of the NFHS rule book, to reinstate Winter’s second-place finish. The petition was tweeted out by Canadian marathoner Rob Watson, who recalls saying similar words during his collegiate days at Colorado State University.