Singapore marathon 'winner' disqualified from race

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Pastry chef Tam Chua Puh admitted yesterday that he took a short cut in last Sunday's marathon, but said he never meant to be the first Singaporean to cross the finishing line.

Father-of-one Tam Chua Puh, 43, caused consternation when he finished Sunday's race several minutes ahead of Singapore's finest distance athletes in a time of 2hr 46min.

However, Tam admitted he had run only six kilometres (3.7 miles) of the 42km race before giving up due to knee pain and taking a short cut straight to the finish line.

Bespectacled Tam, wearing a baseball cap, baggy shorts and a knee brace, was initially declared the winner before organisers, after a hasty check, disqualified him for missing all the check points.

Speaking to The Straits Times, Tam said he simply wanted to make sure he could collect his medal and T-shirt for finishing the race.

And he revealed he'd also cheated in the last two Singapore marathons, in which he gave up halfway and then hitched a lift from medical vans to near the finish.