Marathon cheat wasn’t able to outrun the law

A homeless man has been jailed for picking up a London Marathon runner’s race number and fraudulently claiming his medal.

Stanislaw Skupian, 38, had not registered for the event, but jumped over the barriers and began running. About 300m from the finish, he found a number that a runner had dropped while removing his shirt during the hottest London Marathon on record.

Skupian was presented with a finisher’s medal on April 22, and said that he wanted to give it to his 7-year-old son. He described collecting the medal as a ‘‘dream come true’’ – though it should have gone to Jake Halliday.

Halliday, 28, was not awarded a medal because he crossed the line without a race number. He was running for Bloodwise, a cancer charity, and raised £49,000 with two friends.

He said that he was shocked to learn that Skupian had posed for celebratory pictures with his race number, 35179, and was shown kissing his medal.

Skupian pleaded guilty to fraud and three unrelated thefts last month. Yesterday he was sentenced by Uxbridge magistrates to 13 weeks in jail for the fraud, and a further three weeks for theft.

Defence laywer Jameela Jamroz, in mitigation, said: ‘‘At the time, he hadn’t fully appreciated that he was doing anything wrong. He dedicated the completion of it to his 7-year-old son and to homeless people, to inspire them that good things can happen to those less fortunate.’’

Skupian told The Sun in April: ‘‘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 7-year-old son, as it would make him so proud of me.’’

Nick Bitel, the chief executive of London Marathon Events, welcomed the sentence, saying that it was good to see justice done. ‘‘No impostor should be able to fraudulently claim someone else’s property.’’

Jamroz said that Skupian, a Polish citizen, became homeless after separating from his wife, and had to take time off from his catering job after injuring his neck in a car crash. He had suffered a temporary mental breakdown before the marathon, decided he wanted to run the race, and had started training.