Winner of Bristol half Marathon disqualified after running wrong race

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Omar Ahmed, from Birmingham, was disqualified from the Bristol Half Marathon
He had originally signed up for the 10K race but won the half marathon instead
Omar ran the wrong way during his race at point where the two events diverged

Published: 13:29 EDT, 20 September 2021 | Updated: 02:51 EDT, 21 September 2021

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The winner of the 2021 Bristol Half Marathon has been disqualified after he ran the wrong race.

Omar Ahmed, from Birmingham, had originally signed up to run the 10k race on Sunday but ended up accidentally running the half marathon instead.

He was initially declared the winner of yesterday's Great Bristol Run Half Marathon after crossing the finish line in just 63 minutes.

But following objections from other athletes and a subsequent investigation, Mr Ahmed has now been disqualified and the results reissued.

Omar Ahmed (pictured), from Birmingham, he winner of the 2021 Bristol Half Marathon has been disqualified after he ran the wrong race

Mr Ahmed, who is a highly decorated athlete sponsored by Hoka running gear, went the wrong way when he reached the point where the course diverged for the two distances.

The two routes diverge at Merchant's Road, with the 13-mile route heading out along the Portway and the 10k runners continuing back towards the city centre.

It seems Mr Ahmed, who had entered the shorter race, followed the half marathon route and ended up winning.

However, his winning status has been revoked by the event organisers.

He had originally signed up to run the 10k race on Sunday but ended up accidentally running the half marathon instead

Paul Foster, chief executive of The Great Run Company, said: 'Rules are rules and in this case they say we have to disqualify Omar.

'We salute his performance, and he has been invited to take part in next week's Great Manchester Run as an elite athlete.

'Of course, we also look forward to welcoming him back to Bristol for 2022's Great Bristol Run.'

The revised men's positions have now changed with Chris Thompson, from Aldershot, the winner coming in at 01:07:53, Jack Millar of Bristol and West second at 01:09:55, and Ben Robinson of Gloucester coming in third at 01:09:58.

Mr Ahmed, who is a highly decorated athlete sponsored by Hoka running gear, went the wrong way when he reached the point where the course diverged for the two distances

This is the first year the Great Bristol Half Marathon and Great Bristol 10k have been held on the same day.

Runners had started in staggered waves, which were colour-coded according to ability.

Bristol Birmingham