Marathoner Who Placed 2nd Arrested for Odd Finish

He's accused of jumping out of crowd, running less than a mile in Nairobi event
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Oct 26, 2015 8:55 AM CDT
Marathoner Who Placed 2nd Arrested for Odd Finish
Runners in the Nairobi International Marathon outside Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi, Kenya, on Oct.31, 2010.   (AP Photo/Khalil Senosi)

A man was arrested and will face fraud charges for cheating his way into second place at Kenya's Nairobi International Marathon. Police and race officials said the man, identified as 28-year-old Julius Njogu, hid among a group of spectators before joining Sunday's race near the finish. Njogu claimed second place in a sprint finish after breezing past another competitor in the final stretch at Nyayo National Stadium. He was in line to claim around $7,000 in prize money before being caught and disqualified. Officials said they became suspicious because Njogu showed no signs of fatigue and wasn't sweating when he had supposedly just run 26.2 miles. They discovered that he'd run less than a mile after emerging from a bunch of onlookers and joining the leading group of runners just outside the stadium.

Through the final feet, Njogu jogged easily past a weary-looking Shadrack Kiptoo to cross second. Joshua Kipkorir won the men's race in 2:13:25; Elizabeth Rumokoi won the women's title in 2:29:32. Television images showed Njogu arguing with race officials and even removing his running shoes in an apparent attempt to show organizers blisters on his feet to prove he'd run the entire course. "I followed the leading team from start to finish and I didn't see him," says race director Ibrahim Hussein, a former Boston and New York marathon champion. "He will not be recognized, and I'm so disappointed that one can cheat in this modern age." In 2013, two athletes were disqualified at the same marathon after attempting to cheat in the women's race; Kendall Schler was stripped of her St. Louis Marathon title for cheating this year. (More Kenya stories.)

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