The London Marathon is back for another year as thousands of runners take to the capital’s streets for the gruelling race that has seen plenty of celebrity drama over the years
London Marathon’s gruelling 26.2 mile course is ready for another set of 40,000 runners to pound the capital’s streets. Famous faces will of course be part of the numbers taking on the iconic race.
Most celebrities take on the challenge to raise thousands of pounds for charity and flaunt their impressive medals once they cross the finish line.
However, not all public figures have been so successful on their attempts at the race. Some have even caused plenty of drama and scandal along the way as they either pulled out of the race or admitted to cheating.
We take a look at the biggest scandals to hit the sporting event in its 44 year history…
Mo Farah’s ‘water-gate’
In 2018 Sir Mo Farah suffered a terrible blunder in front of waiting cameras.
The Olympic hero picked up a fellow competitors water bottle while attempting to quench his thirst on a sizzling day in the capital. After realising his mistake, Mo raced back to grab his own drink costing him valuable time.
The champion then managed to make the same error further down the course, leaving him visibly angry and frustrated.
Mo collapsed to the ground after finishing third
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Mo was then seen exchanging strong words with the volunteers. Speaking after the race, Mo explained: “I know they were really helpful towards the end but at the beginning someone was trying to take pictures but after 15k I found it ok.
“I just told them [the safety stewards] to get the staff to be a bit more helpful please. To stop taking pictures and maybe point at my drink and that’s what they were doing at the end.
“My drink and the other runners’ drinks looked exactly the same. I wasn’t wasting energy. I needed a drink so I had to get that right otherwise I would have been done.”
Jade Goody’s curry and booze fuelled training plan
In preparation for the London Marathon many runners adapt their lifestyles to include gruelling fitness plans, a strict diet and cut out alcohol completely, but Big Brother legend Jade Goody had a different approach in the lead up to the long-distance running event.
The late mum-of-two cemented her place in pop culture history back in 2006, when she “got bored” with training for the London Marathon – only completing four practice sessions before the big day and going on to fail to make it past the finish line of the 26.2-mile course.
Jade was slammed by critics at the time, as she required medical assistance halfway around the course during her attempt to the complete the marathon in order to raise money for children’s charity the NSPCC.
The late reality TV star admitted to “eating curry and Chinese, and drinking” just days before the race, with a London Marathon spokeswoman going on to reveal there was no record of the mum-of-two after she passed the 18.5 mile (30km) point at 4 hours and 37 minutes.
At the time, The Guardian reported witnesses saying Jade “turned blue” and shouted “I’m dying” to paramedics around the 18.5 mile mark, but the late star – who died from cervical cancer in 2009 – later claimed she managed to run 21 miles before throwing in the towel.
“I’ve never done anything so hard in all my life,” said Jade.
“It was horrible when I stopped, I felt like I was dying,” she said as she recovered at her Essex mansion afterwards – adding her nominated charity, the NSPCC, would receive the £355 sponsorship money she raised.
While Jade didn’t manage to run a marathon, 18.5 miles is still well over the total distance of famous half-marathons like The Great North Run, so not too bad of an effort!
Katie Price ditches fancy dress – and then the race
The former glamour model made her second attempt at the London Marathon in 2018, with a pair of lungs strapped to her back. Katie was supporting in the British Lung Foundation – in honour of her mother.
Despite going big with her appearance, the glamour model quit just 15km in with her plastic lungs later seen ditched by the side of the road.
An onlooker said: “I was out for a run and came across Katie’s outfit. It seems the copper that was carrying them taken them to a safe place for Katie. But now they’re lying in the street. It’s possible someone took them as a souvenir but couldn’t carry them because they’re really heavy.
“It’s bin day in the area too, so it’s more than likely they’ll be crushed up in one of the council’s lorries before the afternoon is out. It’s a shame really.”
Reality TV ‘cheats’
Despite the London Marathon being a wholesome event, each year cheating accusations are thrown about – with celebrities sometimes being dragged into claims they didn’t cross the finish line without cutting a few corners.
The sister of TOWIE star James ‘Arg’ Argent raised eyebrows in 2016 when she managed run 20k in just 39 minutes – over 10 minutes faster than the then-current world record of 55:21km held by male athlete Zersenay Tadese of Eritrea.
Race officials confirmed at the time that Natasha was under investigation after clocking up the suspicious times. Later, the reality TV star’s sibling went on to admit she hadn’t completed the course – explaining how a panic attack had caused her to quit the route.
“People were cheering me on and I felt like I didn’t deserve the cheers,” she told OK! magazine in 2016. “It was just awful. I’m really sorry if I have hurt anyone.”
The London Marathon organisers confirmed that Natasha would be returning her finisher’s medal.
In 2019, former Love Island star Georgia Harrison impressively ran the London Marathon in exactly four hours – going on to admit after the race she hadn’t done much training and had been partying just days before she put her running shoes on for the gruelling challenge.
While many fans congratulated the star on her incredible achievement, some accused her of cheating – causing the reality TV star hit back and deny the claims.
“To say that Georgia cheated is absolutely ridiculous,” a representative for Georgia told OK! magazine at the time. “She did do bits of training when she could find the time, but she’s just a very strong-willed young woman.”
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