Edinburgh runner claims he was cheated out of London Marathon medal

A London Marathon runner was claimed to have been cheated out of a medal after a runner finished the race with his number and jogged the final two miles.

The runner claims he was cheated out of a medal after it was collected by a homeless man.

Organisers are now investigating after it was claimed that an apparent impostor may have used a genuine runner’s lost race number to collect a medal.

28-year-old Jake Halliday from the Capital reportedly lost his race number and was taken off the course after a gruelling three and a half hours into his run.

The investment manager was running with his friend Andrew Keiller for the blood cancer research charity Bloodwise, in support of Keiller’s girlfriend and had raised more than £48,500, smashing their £20,000 target.

However, a race tracker did not record a finishing time as Halliday did not cross the line, despite running over 40km.

Since the conclusion of the race, however, images have surfaced online with an alleged impostor posing at the finish line with Halliday’s race number, 35179, and a finisher’s medal.

Officials said they were aware of the claims and were investigating but would make “no further comment at the moment” after pictures emerged from runner Peter Mowbray who highlighted the incident.

The 51-year-old from Blackpool said: “I couldn’t believe this so we went on the website and you can clearly see the pictures of Jake are completely different.

“For it to be claimed another man to take all the glory and credit for someone else’s hard work really makes me question human life.”

Now, according to reports in the Sun, the man who allegedly stole the number has been identified as 38-year-old Stanley Skupien.

Speaking to the Sun he said that he deserved the medal saying it was one of the biggest achievements of his life.

He said he spotted the lost number near the finish of the 26-mile race and ran the last few miles.

Stanley said: “I saw the number face-up in the middle of the road. I knew if I had one I would get a medal — my heart leapt, it was a dream come true. I had no thoughts of the person whose number it was.

“I picked it up and held it to my chest as I crossed the line, I was in tears.

“A woman put the medal around my neck and told me ‘well done’. I kept kissing it — it was my biggest moment ever.”

Stanley, according to the Sun, has now been accused of attempting to steal a houseboat in London.

According to local reports, the houseboat had a “London Marathon Finisher” t-shirt drying on the tiller.