Last week, the University of New Mexico Lobos took home first place overall at the first-ever collegiate chain-smoking competition.
The competition included events such as the fastest smoker to finish one, five or 10 cigarettes. Endurance-focused events included the most cigarettes finished in five, 10 and 15 minutes. The school that performed the best in all the events was awarded first place.
Marl Boro, the star smoker for the Lobos, managed to win first place in both 10- and 15-minute events. She managed to smoke 217 and 302 cigarettes in 10 and 15 minutes, respectively.
This was quite the impressive feat, with the runner-up following her with 95 cigarettes in 10 minutes and 172 cigarettes in 15 minutes. Most competitors in these events seemed to slow down near the end, but not Boro. She kept up a steady pace and was unfazed by the cloud of smoke so dense it was impossible to get a clear view of anything.
“It was a very good performance, I thought, for the first competition,” Boro said. “Though there’s always room for improvement — I think I could have improved my technique on the transfer between each cigarette.”
While this was the first official collegiate tournament, the sport of smoking cigarettes has existed for over a century. The unofficial world record for most cigarettes smoked in 10 minutes belongs to former President William Howard Taft, who is fabled to have smoked over 500 cigarettes in only 10 minutes during his time as a student at Yale University.
Boro hopes the inclusion of chain smoking as an official NCAA sport will draw more relevance and participation.
“It's such a wonderful sport that so many people are deeply passionate about. I'm just happy that it's starting to get more attention,” Boro said. “Hopefully, it will be a sport that continues to grow and there will be more high-level competition.”
Boro has faced allegations that she is not actually smoking the cigarettes and is, instead, just eating them.
“There's no way that Boro is actually smoking all those cigarettes, and with all the smoke, you can’t really see what's happening accurately,” fellow competitor Lucas “Lucky” Strike said. “I think she's actually just chewing up and eating all the cigarettes, and that’s how she manages to keep winning.”
Boro refused to comment on the accusations but said she has never seen a cigarette she doesn’t want to smoke.
Jaden McKelvey-Francis is a beat reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on X @jadenmckelvey
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