After 26 Miles and Two Hours, ABC Loses Winner of New York Marathon
Winner Ibrahim Hussein was thrilled when he crossed the finish line at the New York City Marathon, but television viewers weren’t.
Angry viewers swamped ABC with calls to complain about the network’s failure to show Hussein breaking the tape Sunday.
After following Hussein closely throughout the second half of the race, ABC lost track of him in the final yards.
“It was just plain human error,” ABC spokesman Jeff Tolvin said.
ABC showed Hussein entering Central Park for the stretch run, then switched to a wide shot of the crowd. When the network cut back to the race, Tolvin said, a cameraman focused on the wrong runner.
“We made a mistake,” he said. “These things happen in live television.”
None of the ABC commentators offered an explanation or apology for the blunder before leaving the air.
Also at the finish, announcer Jim McKay said that Pat Petersen had held on to place second when actually Petersen was passed by two runners and finished fourth.
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