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Julius Njogu, a 28-year-old man, is facing charges after sneaking into the last stretch of the Nairobi International Marathon and trying to pocket $7,000 in prize money.
No Sweat
The Kenyan man ran past exhausted runners and grabbed the second place in an “impressive” sprint finish. Njogu’s run raised suspicions because he did not show any signs of fatigue. Officials later discovered that the man had barely completed one kilometer. He emerged from the crowd and joined the leading group of runners right outside the Nyayo National Stadium. He was not even sweating when he crossed the finish line.
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A Disgraceful Act
Njogu finished second, right behind Joshua Kipkorir, who finished the race in 2 hours, 13 minutes and 25 seconds. The cheater was caught right when he was about to claim the $7000 prize money. Njogu was immediately disqualified and arrested by police officers. TV images showed the “champion” removing his running shoes and showing his blisters to race officials. Unfortunately for him, the blisters were not sufficient proof that he ran the entire race.
“I followed the leading team from start to finish and I didn’t see him,” said the race director, Ibrahim Hussein. “He will not be recognized and I’m so disappointed that one can cheat in this modern age. He didn’t finish second.”
A similar story occurred in 2013 when two female runners were disqualified at the Nairobi marathon after attempting to cheat their way to podium finishes.
Watch a video of the runner getting caught below:
https://youtu.be/OKthgjPqLmI
