In one of the most surreal moments in marathon racing the winner of Sunday's Fort Lauderdale A1A Marathon had to wait around the finish for a half hour before race organizers realized he had crossed the line and won the race.
Men's winner Antonio Sousa of Lisbon, Portugal, 38-year-old physical education teacher managed to blow past the lead motorcycle escorts and finish before race officials realized the men's winner was in.
"I would have liked to have gotten the tape," said Sousa, on vacation and staying at his friend's house in Miami. "They didn't give me the tape. I got to do it again but it isn't the same. I don't care. I am happy and it is good I won."
According to the SunSentinal.com:
"Sousa, a veteran marathoner, broke the course record in 2 hours, 26 minutes and 22 seconds to win his second marathon in three weeks in his Florida debut. The previous course record was 2:39.
Sousa also won a marathon in Spain in 2:37. He ran his career-best 2:13 at age 32; he turns 39 on Thursday. He has a tattoo on his left arm that reads "Marathon Runner Forever" in Japanese."