When Tommy Fury crossed the finish line of his first triathlon along the French Riviera he declared he had ‘left it all’ there, having had just 10 days of training.
But despite his celebrations with partner Molly-Mae Hague it later emerged that he did not actually finish the event, pointing to his bike splits, which showed he was not logged beyond the 48km point.
The gruelling race consisted of three stages: a 2km swim, an 80km bike leg and finally an 18km run to the finish line, meaning he did not complete the full course.
Over the years many celebrities have taken on fitness challenges from Katie Price to Jade Goody and Georgia Harrison.
And much like Tommy, they have faced backlash and suffered controversy with Katie quitting the race and one celebrity even being forced to hand in their medal.
Others have faced ‘cheating claims’ after admitting to not training properly, while some took detours and became injured.
When Tommy Fury crossed the finish line of his first triathlon along the French Riviera it later emerged that he did not actually finish the event
Over the years many celebrities have taken on fitness challenges from Katie Price (pictured) to Jade Goody and much like Tommy many other have faced backlash and suffered controversy
Katie Price
Katie Price was unable to complete the London Marathon in 2018 and was instead spotted having lunch with her terminally ill mother Amy while others finished the 26.2 mile run.
The TV personality, who was raising money for the British Lung Foundation, was forced to quit with a knee injury and her giant lung costume was later carried to the finish line by police, three hours into the race.
Spectators noticed that Katie had dropped out early when she was seen having tea with her mother, whose terminal lung illness idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) was the motivation for Katie to take part for a second time.
Confirming that Katie had pulled out, Amy shared a congratulatory message in which she defended the star’s decision to pull out and explained how proud she felt for the awareness her daughter had raised for lung conditions.
‘I just wanted to say how proud I am of my daughter Katie for running the London Marathon,’ Amy said. ‘She may not have completed it but she’s raised so much awareness, it’s been worth it for the British Lung Foundation.’
Facing criticism for not training in the lead up to the run, Katie set the record straight by adding: ‘I did train for the run, tried my best in a heavy outfit and if my mummy is proud that’s what matters to me.’
Katie disappeared from the race’s live tracker between 10-15km of the 42km and she reappeared on Instagram Stories at 6pm, eating an ice cream with ‘family’.
The star was reportedly heard telling the crowds: ‘I can’t. I want to stop now’. She had been on course to finish the course at 6:44pm, had she maintained her walking pace.
One fan even claims to have seen Katie enjoying afternoon tea while others including Chris Evans and Rochelle Humes were still yet to complete.
Georgia Harrison
Georgia Harrison completed the London Marathon in exactly four hours back in 2019 but it wasn’t without controversy
Georgia Harrison completed the London Marathon in exactly four hours back in 2019 but it wasn’t without controversy.
After admitting to ‘not training very much’ she was hit by cheating accusations from fans which we quickly shut down by her representative.
Daily Mail also revealed that the TV personality tore her left buttock just ten miles into the 26.3 mile race, but didn’t realise what the pain in her backside was until she visited a physiotherapist the next day.
A source said: ‘Georgia was about ten miles in to the London Marathon race on Sunday when she felt a pull in her bottom.
‘The pain got worse as she continued on and finished the marathon in exactly four hours. However after the race her left butt cheek was swollen and really red.
‘She went to see her physiotherapist today and discovered she had an acute tear on her gluteus maximus.
‘The physio said he’s amazed she was able to finish the race with that sort of injury.’
Georgia told her Instagram followers afterwards: ‘My legs and knees are killing me. I need a couple of days to recover but it’s definitely, definitely worth it.
Addressing the requests for advice on training for next year’s marathon, Georgia admitted: ‘Hate to break it to you guys, but I ain’t the girl to ask. I have been drunk for the majority of this month.
‘I didn’t really do enough training. I done [sic] one long run, but literally I got in at three in the morning the night before that. Don’t ask me about training programs and stuff, because I really didn’t do much.’
James Argent’s sister Natasha
In 2016, Arg’s sister Natasha Argent was investigated by London Marathon officials after taking a detour that landed her in the centre of a cheating scandal
In 2016, Natasha Argent was investigated by London Marathon officials after she finished the 26.2mile run in under four hours
Figures showed she raced through the final 20km in 48 minutes – and missed 11 of the 24 checkpoints along the route after taking a detour that landed her in the centre of a cheating scandal.
Event organisers later confirmed she had returned her finisher’s medal and would be banned from taking part in any future London Marathon events.
Natasha hit back at accusations that she deliberately cheated during the race, insisting a panic attack was to blame for her leaving the course.
In an interview with OK! Magazine, Natasha said she went off course while she calmed down and later rejoined the runners on the final leg of the route in her confusion.
She said: ‘I kept running for probably a mile and then went over to a marshall. I told him I had gone wrong and asked him to get me back to the place I should be, as I knew I hadn’t seen my parents who were waiting at Canary Wharf. I was genuinely lost.’
Natasha said the official told her there was ‘no way’ she could go back.
She added: ‘People were cheering me on and I felt like I didn’t deserve the cheers. It was just awful,’ and tell us: ‘I’m really sorry if I have hurt anyone.’
Times for the Virgin Money London Marathon were posted on its official website, meaning that fans who had taken an interest in Natasha’s race were able to stumble upon the strange statistics.
They revealed that she had finished the course in just under four hours. However photographs showed Miss Argent struggling to lift her feet as she plodded down the Mall.
The race data also showed she completed the final 20km in under an hour, meaning she must have averaged sub four-minute miles – an incredible pace that is quicker than even Mo Farah’s.
She also appeared to have missed a number of electronic checkpoints, raising questions over the route she had taken.
The discrepancies were pointed out by a handful of eagle-eyed social media users and soon took hold online, with dozens of users making accusations of cheating.
Mo Farah
Even professional long-distance runner Mo Farah has faced criticism after he made a series of blunders during the 2018 London Marathon
Even professional long-distance runner Mo Farah has faced criticism after he made a series of blunders during the 2018 London Marathon when picking up his water bottles during the race proved strangely problematic.
After 28 minutes, at the 10km drinks station, he missed his drink and picked up the wrong bottle, which he quickly threw away after realising it was not his.
He was then seen shouting at the marshals on motorbikes a few minutes later before speaking to another one just a short way down the road.
After 57 minutes, at the 20km drinks station Mo lost five seconds stopping and running back to get his bottle after getting confused again.
When quizzed about the incident later he appeared to blame the volunteers for not helping him.
He said: ‘The drink station was confusing. I was table four, I went to pick it up. The staff were helpful at the end but at the beginning they were trying to take a picture rather than giving me the drink.
‘I was saying to the people on motorbikes to tell the staff to be a bit helpful instead of taking pictures. I wasn’t wasting energy, I just needed a drink. I had to get it right.’
Mo’s drinks bottles contained a special carbohydrates and salt mixture from the sports drink company Maurten, his coach Gary Lough told Daily Mail.
Tommy Fury
Tommy’s official time on the Sportstats website for his first triathlon last weekend revealed a large DNF next to his name, making him one of 93 athletes not to have completed the route
Tommy Fury, the younger brother of former heavyweight boxing world champion Tyson, ran his first triathlon along the French Riviera last weekend.
However, it was reported on Wednesday that there was a discrepancy. An article by Marathon Investigation declared that Fury did not actually finish the event, pointing to his bike splits, which showed he was not logged beyond the 48km point.
These splits were recorded every 6km along the route.
In fact, Tommy’s official time on the Sportstats website revealed a large DNF next to his name, making him one of 93 athletes not to have completed the route.
Further investigation from tri247.com found that road closures had been shortened because the bike course for the amateurs had been changed since the event was first announced. The amateur groups were tasked with six laps of around 13km.
It then became apparent on the day that some amateurs, not just including Tommy, were not going to be able to finish the bike leg before the roads were reopened.
The Professional Triathletes Organisation said: ‘Due to our permit for the road closures in France, unfortunately Tommy and some other athletes in the 100km amateur race were unable to complete the bike course before the cut-off time.
‘However, given our philosophy to grow the sport and encourage new athletes, we wanted to give them as full an experience as possible.
‘So they were all given the opportunity to do the 18km run and cross the finish line.’
However, his Instagram followers believe he should have been more truthful about his claim of officially conquering the triathlon.
‘Missed the swim cut off, and bike cut off?’ one user said. ‘Just be honest.’
‘This is embarrassing,’ another posted in the comments. ‘Officials have confirmed that you didn’t make the cut-off times yet here is the frightening world of social media… people would have more respect for you if you were honest.’
