Runner Forfeits Third-Place Finish After He’s Caught Taking Bus During Marathon
The third-place finisher of a British marathon used a ride on a bus to pass competitors on the way to the finish line, reports The Telegraph.
Runner Rob Sloan, who has since been disqualified, grew tired after running the first 20 miles of Sunday’s Kielder Marathon. He left the course and caught a spectator shuttle bus that took him six miles to a spot near the finish. Sloan then emerged from a wooded area to hit the tape in third place with a fast time of 2:51:00.
People in cars following the bus saw him get on and off. People saw him run through the bushes – we had him hook, line and sinker,” Dave Roberts, one of the marathon organizers, said to the Associated Press.
The runners who followed Sloan across the finish line helped raise suspicion when they explained to race organizers that they didn’t recall the 31-year-old Brit passing them during the race.
When race officials first confronted Sloan with the allegations, he called the idea ”laughable,” but he eventually admitted that he cheated. Steven Cairns, the fourth-place finisher who was later given the bronze medal awarded to Sloan, took to Facebook to vent:
“I was third the whole way but somehow I crossed the line and was given fourth! He has stolen my glory and my moment on the podium, ” Cairns wrote.
Sloan apparently did win a 10K race on Saturday.