A husband and wife have been accused of cheating the London Marathon after they ran the course wearing the same registration number on their vests.
Monika Czarnecka, 41 and her husband Piotr, 42 were photographed running together on the gruelling course, prompting organisers to launch an investigation as the couple faced a social media backlash for cheating.
It later emerged that only Ms Czarnecka was registered to run in the race with Piotr admitting to MailOnline that he had reproduced her number so that he could accompany his wife for 'moral support.'
Over 80,000 people entered last Sunday's race and Mrs Czarnecka, from Amersham in Buckinghamshire, finished in 21,697th place in a time of 4hrs 40 mins and 58 seconds.
Monika Czarnecka, 41 and her husband Piotr, 42, have been accused of cheating the London Marathon after they ran the course wearing the same registration number on their vest
Organisers launched an investigation after the couple were photographed running together on the gruelling course
The pair initially logged their marathon time on the Strava running app, which they later deleted
Fighting back the tears, Ms Czarnecka sobbed to MailOnline: 'I'm truly sorry for what we've done and didn't want to cause any harm. The supporters were amazing, and their cheering and clapping helped me finish the marathon and it hurts to think that I've let them down.
'This was my first marathon and I needed Piotr's support because I was worried sick that I wouldn't be able to finish it.'
Piotr, 42 added: 'It was all my idea and I take full responsibility for it. I know it's wrong and I'm truly sorry, but I did what I did to support my wife.'
He admitted that he was unable to secure a place in the London Marathon himself after missing out on the ballot.
Registration numbers are distributed to runners days ahead of the race, which gave Piotr enough time to reproduce the 11250 number that had been issued to his wife.
But they were detected by eagle eyed members of the running community who widely circulated pictures of them running alongside each other, including one of them crossing the finishing line together.
A London Marathon spokesperson confirmed: 'We are aware of the images that show two runners wearing identical numbers and we are investigating. We take any incident where a participant cheats or forges numbers extremely seriously.'
The couple initially logged their marathon time on the Strava running app, which they later deleted.
One furious Twitter user wrote: 'She's suddenly got awfully shy on Strava when I mentioned this photo and all the others and suggested she hand back her medal.'
Another tweeted: 'I've had 9 rejections in 9 years. This kind of thing is incredibly frustrating. Next year is my last chance. I'm not holding out any hope.'
Only Ms Czarnecka was registered to run in the race with Mr Piotr admitting hat he had reproduced her number
Mr Piotr (pictured with his wife) admitted that he was unable to secure a place in the London Marathon himself
Other Twitter users were enraged by the couple's con when charities have to pay for their places in the starting line-up.
Run Hammer11 wrote: 'It's not fair if we are paying around £200 for a
