Bus-ted: Marathon Man Admits Cheating

UK, Wednesday October 12, 2011

A man who finished third in a marathon on Sunday has admitted he cheated by hopping on a bus when he still had several miles to go.

Rob Sloan was disqualifed after admitting catching the bus

Rob Sloan was spotted catching a free ride at about the 20-mile (32km) mark of Sunday's Kielder Marathon in Northumberland before jumping off just before the finish, hiding behind a tree and rejoining the race. After being confronted by fellow competitors, the 31-year-old former army mechanic from Downhill, Sunderland, initially denied cheating but later owned up. "Last night we confirmed that the athlete who was disqualified on Sunday, after initially placing third, has admitted that he failed to complete the whole course of 26.2 miles (42km)," a statement from the organisers said. Event director Steve Cram told the Sunderland Echo: "Mr Sloan made a mistake and has apologised to us for the confusion it has caused." The runner who thought he had finished third, Steven Cairns, of Peebles, Scotland, said he was stunned to be told he had finished fourth behind Sloan. "I approached a race marshal and said, 'Fourth? Who was third?' He pointed to this guy Rob Sloan who was being interviewed by ITV local news," Cairns said. "I listened to the interview. He was saying how good a race he had run and how he couldn't have given any more. When the interview was over I asked him if he had finished third and he said 'yes'. "I then asked him where he had passed me and he said he'd done so after the 15mile mark, which was impossible because at the point I had opened up a fiveminute gap. He didn't say anything. He just turned away and walked off." Cairns has since been awarded third place and Sloan has been disqualified. http://news.sky.com/home/strange-news/article/16087522