The garda banned from the Dublin Marathon after allegedly taking the Luas to finish the race told pals he was just trying to pick up his gear.
He handed back his medal and T-shirt after questions were raised over his time. Organisers said the man “will be disqualified from future Dublin Marathon or Dublin Race Series events”.
However, the Irish Mirror has learned the garda claims the incident was a misunderstanding and he only ever planned to complete half the 26.2-mile course. A source said: “He has told friends that after he had gone that far, he was knackered and decided to call it a day.
Read more: Football supporters throw flares and brawl during FAI Cup final in Dublin
“So he said he got on public transport to pick up his gear, but the only way he could do that was to walk across the finishing line. When he did that, he was automatically given the medal. He says he wasn’t trying to pull the wool over anyone’s eyes.”
Race organisers launched a probe after the man had an average running pace of nearly 10 minutes per mile during the first half of the race but this fell to nearly six minutes per mile after that.
A Garda spokesman said it was investigating the matter itself. The source added: “We are conducting an internal fact-finding review.”
Last month’s Dublin Marathon was the first one since 2019 after the ones in 2020 and 2021 were cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
READ NEXT:
- Garda who used Luas to compete in Dublin Marathon banned for life as he apologises
- Swimmer dies after getting into difficulty at Bray Beach
Gang boss found dead in Swords hostel with €50k of heroin in suspected overdose
Woman found dead in Meath flat named locally as gardai launch investigation
Sign up to the Dublin Live Newsletter to get all the latest Dublin news straight to your inbox.
