MARATHON DISQUALIFIES WINNER FOR CHEATING : OFFICIAL SAW RUNNER DART ACROSS LOT.

Byline: Michael Rosenthal Daily News Staff Writer

Nadezhda Ilyina charged from third place over the last four miles to win the women's portion of the 12th Los Angeles Marathon in dramatic fashion Sunday.

Or so the Russian thought.

The referee ruled Ilyina cheated, literally cutting a street corner to make up ground. Others accused the prerace favorite of cutting other corners as well.

``I know the rules. I've been doing this for 15 years,'' said a red-eyed Ilyina, who wept throughout much of the post-race news conference.

``If that's what happened, it was totally unintentional. . . . I honestly don't remember what happened. I'm unsure about what happened.''

The disqualification cost Ilyina the $15,000 first prize, a car valued at $25,000 and quite possibly her reputation. It left Kenya's Lornah Kiplagat the winner in 2 hours, 33 minutes, 50 seconds on a brilliant, sunny day in which 19,998 runners participated and thousands of others watched the annual race that took place throughout the downtown Los Angeles area.

``I thought I was second,'' said Kiplagat, a 22-year-old from Kenya who was running her first marathon and is one of Ilyina's good friends (the two share the same manager). ``When they said I was first, I couldn't believe it. I thought, what happened and why?''

In a less eventful men's race, El-Maati Chaham of Morocco outsprinted Bekele Tesfaye - who signed up only Saturday to run - to win in a very slow 2:14.16.

According to race officials, Ilyina was in third place around the 22-mile point when officials in a timing car saw her cut across a convenience store parking lot at Santa Monica Boulevard and Virgil Avenue - slicing about 50 yards from the 26.2-mile course.

Annalee Chandler, who was in the car with four others, said she saw Ilyina run under yellow tape that served as a barrier.

Craig Evans, a spotter for KCOP television who was in a sidecar on a motorcycle, said he saw Ilyina cut corners on two more occasions.

Ilyina said she remembered only this: She was experiencing stomach pains and was looking for a restroom at the gas station. When she couldn't find one, she continued running. She said she could remember no other time she cut a corner.

Ger Wijenberg, Ilyina's manager and boyfriend, said it is common practice in Europe to cut corners, suggesting Ilyina reverted to instinct.

However, Basil Honikman, the USA Track and Field race referee, said he had to disqualify Ilyina.

``There were five people in the lead vehicle. All five saw her,'' he said. ``Also, a spotter for KCOP said he saw her cut corners on two separate occasions.

``At our (prerace) technical meetings, we explicitly explained that the course goes from sidewalk to sidewalk. We even used the example of a (corner) gas station specifically.''

Wijenberg, who has 24 hours to file a protest, admitted the course boundaries were made clear at the prerace meetings.

``If it happened this way,'' he said, ``it was a very stupid thing (for Ilyina) to do. If it happened this way, it's right to disqualify her.''

Ilyina, a notoriously slow starter, fell behind early in the race. First, it was Sylvia Mosqueda of Los Angeles who seized the lead. Then it was Irina Bogacheva of Kyrgzstan and Kiplagat who together ran away from the pack.

However, Ilyina chased them down and finally took the lead in the 24th mile. Kiplagat, stunned at Ilyina's sudden surge, made a late run but fell a few seconds short.

Bogacheva, who eventually finished third, suggested afterward that Ilyina was not even at the starting line - implying that she entered the race while it was in progress - but race officials discounted that.

As it turned out, it didn't matter.

``The $15,000 and the car isn't life or death, but it would have been a pretty nice Sunday to have it,'' Wijenberg said.

Realizing this is one incident she can never live down, Ilyina promised she will be back next year to make amends.

``People are always going to think of this when they hear her name,'' Wijenberg said.

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos

PHOTO (1 -- color) Nadezhda Ilyina crosses the finish line ahead of Lornah Kiplagat.

Gus Ruelas/Daily News

(2 -- color) Nadezhda Ilyina is upset after learning of her disqualification for leaving the course.