A homeless man who picked up a London Marathon runner’s race number and crossed the line in his place says he “deserved” his medal.
Polish-born Stanley Skupien, 38, “dumped a suitcase full of his possessions and jumped the barrier near Tower Bridge” to join in the 26.6-mile race at around the 12-mile mark, The Daily Telegraph reports. He then spotted another competitor’s accidentally dropped number about two miles from the finish and picked it up, so that he could claim a medal.
According to The Sun, Skupien, a builder, has been sleeping rough at Heathrow Airport following the collapse of his marriage, and is known by staff there as the “Jogging Tramp”.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Latest Videos FromThe Week
The avid runner told the newspaper that crossing the finish line was a “dream come true”, adding: “I deserved my medal.”
“I saw the number face-up in the middle of the road,” he said. “I knew if I had one I would get a medal - my heart leaped, 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.”
The lost number belonged to 28-year-old runner Jake Halliday, who was subsequently disqualified despite raising £48,000 for blood cancer charity Bloodwise, Metro reports.
Skupien added: “I feel bad for Jake. But he crossed the line without his number so he’d have been disqualified anyway. I thought I’d present the medal to my seven-year-old son, Viktos, as it would make him so proud of me.”
Skupien was arrested at Heathrow on Tuesday on an unrelated theft charge. A London Marathon spokesperson said: “We are aware a man was arrested at Heathrow. We are now awaiting further information.”
