London Marathon couple issued humble apology after being caught 'cheating'

A couple who participated in the 2021 faced a backlash after being accused of 'cheating' by outraged social media users. Monika Czarnecka and her husband, Piotr, ran the full 26.2 miles together, finishing hand-in-hand and crossing the line at the same time.

The controversy erupted when a photo surfaced online showing both Monika and Piotr sporting the same bib number, 11250, sparking accusations of foul play. Although they weren't accused of cutting corners or falsifying times, it turned out that only Ms. Czarnecka was officially registered for the marathon.

Piotr confessed he had duplicated the number to sneak onto the course and support his wife, a move that ignited anger among those who had tried and failed to secure a spot in the prestigious race. Among the tens of thousands who took to the streets of London, Ms. Czarnecka finished in 21,697th place, clocking a time of 4 hours, 40 minutes, and 58 seconds.

READ MORE:

READ MORE:

The marathon is notoriously difficult to enter, with hundreds of thousands of hopefuls getting turned away each year. In response to the uproar over her husband's unregistered participation, Ms. Czarnecka expressed her remorse.

While speaking to , she said: "I'm truly sorry for what we've done and didn't want to cause any harm. The supporters were amazing, and their cheering and clapping helped me finish the marathon.

"It hurts to think that I've let them down. This was my first marathon and I needed Piotr's support because I was worried sick that I wouldn't be able to finish it."

Piotr took full responsibility for the incident, claiming he was the person who came up with the idea to sneak onto the course. He said: "It was all my idea and I take full responsibility for it. I know it's wrong and I'm truly sorry, but I did what I did to support my wife."

An official comment from organisers of the London Marathon said: "We are aware of the images that show two runners wearing identical numbers and we are investigating. We take any incident where a participant cheats or forges numbers extremely seriously."

The incident sparked outrage on social media, with one individual expressing their frustration after multiple rejections. They wrote: "I've had 9 rejections in 9 years. This kind of thing is incredibly frustrating. Next year is my last chance. I'm not holding out any hope."

Another voiced their discontent regarding charity places, saying: "It's not fair if we are paying around £200 for a charity place, stressing raising £2k, and you get virtuals or fakes on course really."

Addressing the backlash, Piotr emphasized his sole intention was to support Monika rather than race and record a score for himself. He added: "I didn't collect a medal, I was just there to support Monika.

"The race was like a walk for me because my marathon times are a lot quicker. I've run two London Marathons in the past so this one just gone was not about racing.

"It was all about my wife. People are behaving as if we've committed a serious crime and are treating us worse than athletes who've been caught for drug cheating."