Besides not climbing the podium, Aruna Devi — running only her second full-marathon, and the first in Mumbai — also missed receiving the $2,500 prize-cheque in full view of the thousands of cheering spectators.

Officials, though terming the fiasco unfortunate, said they hadn’t figured out how it happened. Adille Sumariwala, leading the technicals officials’ team, said, “We always had the names right on our result sheets. I’m trying to find out how the mistake happened and I’ll do a post mortem on the volunteers’ actions. But there are so many agencies operating at the finishing line. Volunteers don’t know all athletes by name and face, hence the confusion. She has got the cheque and medal now.” Why the officials didn’t notice that three different runners were escorted to the podium, remains unanswered. more Reports, page 22