A married couple who completed the London Marathon in 2021 has faced a barrage of criticism after being caught 'cheating' during the iconic race. Monika Czarnecka and her husband Piotr ran the 26.2 miles side by side and crossed the finishing line together, but social media users quickly spotted that both were wearing identical registration numbers, 11250, pinned to their chests.
While they were not accused of cutting corners or falsifying their times, it emerged that only Ms Czarnecka was officially registered to participate in the race. Piotr later admitted that he had not secured a place but had duplicated the number so he could gain access to the course and offer moral support to his wife. This sparked outrage on social media, particularly among those who had been unsuccessful in securing a place in the demanding event.
Out of more than 40,000 runners taking part in the capital, Ms Czarnecka came in 21,697th, finishing the race in four hours, 40 minutes and 58 seconds. Typically, the number of applicants who are rejected for the marathon runs into the hundreds of thousands. Responding to the anger provoked by Piotr running the marathon without being registered, Ms Czarnecka told the Mail: "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 also 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." A spokesperson from 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."
Outraged social media users were quick to pile on the couple. One 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 fumed: "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." Responding to the backlash, Piotr 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."
