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Still not sure what exactly Conker (Conking? Conkering?) is but the headline wrote itself
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The Conker World Championships has been embroiled in a cheating scandal after the winner of the tournament was discovered with a steel decoy in his pocket.
Known as “King Conker”, David Jakins secured the 2024 men’s competition title at the international event in Southwick, Northamptonshire, this weekend.
However, the validity of his victory has been called into question after cheating allegations surfaced, accusing him of using a conker made of steel to “obliterate” his opponents.
After the competition, the retired engineer was found to have a steel dummy, shaped and painted to look like a real conker and threaded on identical lace.
The 82-year-old, who was also responsible for drilling and threading the conkers that competitors choose randomly from, also faces accusations of marking the strings to identify the strongest ones.
Jakins, who has entered the competition 46 times in the past, has denied all of the allegations.
St John Burkett, spokesperson for the Conker World Championships, said he and other organisers became aware of the steel conker by the end of the competition, and that the committee had met to investigate the allegations.
“I have to say it looks exactly like a real conker,” he told Sky News, adding that the committee is likely to rule out foul play. “He showed us it at the end. It’s almost a bit like a lucky charm I think, like a treasured possession.”………
www.independent.co.uk
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The Conker World Championships has been embroiled in a cheating scandal after the winner of the tournament was discovered with a steel decoy in his pocket.
Known as “King Conker”, David Jakins secured the 2024 men’s competition title at the international event in Southwick, Northamptonshire, this weekend.
However, the validity of his victory has been called into question after cheating allegations surfaced, accusing him of using a conker made of steel to “obliterate” his opponents.
After the competition, the retired engineer was found to have a steel dummy, shaped and painted to look like a real conker and threaded on identical lace.
The 82-year-old, who was also responsible for drilling and threading the conkers that competitors choose randomly from, also faces accusations of marking the strings to identify the strongest ones.
Jakins, who has entered the competition 46 times in the past, has denied all of the allegations.
St John Burkett, spokesperson for the Conker World Championships, said he and other organisers became aware of the steel conker by the end of the competition, and that the committee had met to investigate the allegations.
“I have to say it looks exactly like a real conker,” he told Sky News, adding that the committee is likely to rule out foul play. “He showed us it at the end. It’s almost a bit like a lucky charm I think, like a treasured possession.”………
‘King Conker’ accused of cheating after steel dummy found in pocket
‘King Conker’ denies accusations of using steel dummy in final of world competition
www.independent.co.uk
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