ITVThe sister of The Only Way Is Essex star James Argent has revealed what actually happened on the day of the London Marathon.
Natasha Argent spoke to OK! magazine to give her side of the story after her electric quick time for the second half of the race earned her the dubious honour of being labelled a cheat.
The tennis coach argued that a panic attack led to her leaving the route, becoming lost, and ‘completing’ the second 20k in just 48 minutes – a time Mo Farah would have trouble matching.
Argent told the magazine:
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…People were cheering me on and I felt like I didn’t deserve the cheers. It was just awful. I’m really sorry if I have hurt anyone.
According to the magazine, the marshall said there was ‘no way’ for her to return to the route, so all she could do was cross the line and pick up a medal anyway.
@NatashaArgent You might need some advise on pacing, you ran the second 20k in 48 mins..! That’s 03:52/mi pace…! pic.twitter.com/Akd3vkifA7
— Daz Reevell (@iRunSometimes) April 25, 2016
Argent had completely missed checkpoints 13-23, which sparked an investigation into her time.
Event Director Hugh Brasher told the Metro:
Our results team has been in touch with Natasha Argent, along with a small number of other runners, to request an explanation for the missing split times in her results from Sunday’s Virgin Money London Marathon.
At her request, we have removed her results from the system and she will be returning her finisher’s medal to us.
Fair play to her for returning the medal, but why take it in the first place, and why take a selfie showing it off if you already felt you didn’t deserve it?
