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No stone was left unturned at this global championship rocked by a cheating scandal.
At least several competitors were tossed like the stones they threw at the World Stone Skimming Championship on the small Scottish island of Easdale earlier this month, according to reports.
A handful of the 400 participants were accused of using “suspiciously circular” shaped stones that helped them more easily bounce along the water instead of following rules that require them to use natural stones found on the island.
Kyle Mathews, who organized the event, told the BBC that the stone-cold cheaters “held their hands up” and issued apologies for doctoring stones when confronted.
Mathews, known as the “Toss Master,” told the BBC judges that he became aware of “rumors and murmuring of some nefarious deeds” before the “little bit of stone doctoring” sank the integrity of the tourney.
“It only shows how keen people are to win this trophy,” Mathews also told the New York Times. “In many ways, it’s flattering.”
Each contestant gets three skips to see how far it can travel before sinking. The stones are only supposed to be “naturally formed on Easdale,” according to the newspaper.
An exact number of cheaters wasn’t revealed.
Jon Jennings won the championship — the first American to clinch victory since the competition started in 1983.
“Not only did I end up winning it, but my official cumulative score ended up being 177 meters, which is the record for that contest as well now,” the Kentucky resident told LEX 18.
“My uncle, when I was younger, he was like, ‘Jon, you got a gift in stone skipping,’” he said.
“He was like, ‘there’s competitions out there, you need to find those competitions because you are going to win.’”
English (US)