Gaffer Tape said:

cheat-To violate rules in order to gain advantage from a situation

So, no, it wasn't on purpose, but the rules were violated, and they were violated in such a way that the other competitor gained an advantage (not sure how much more of an advantage you can get than winning through the rules being broken when you wouldn't have won if they were followed). So, yes, cheating.

yes the rules got violated, but Heidemann didn't violate them, the time keeper did. When you say someone cheats, you are saying they deliberately broke the rules to gain an advantage. Heidemann didn't do that, and certainly not deliberately. It isn't her fault this mess happened.

btw Gaffer, please watch that video I linked to about the 1972 Gold medal basketball game and tell me what you think.