'My chestnut disintegrated in one go, which never happens': 80-year-old suspected of cheating at world chestnut championships

'My chestnut disintegrated in one go, which never happens': 80-year-old suspected of cheating at world chestnut championships

Les championnats du monde de marron se sont terminés en eau de boudin. https://imagebroker.com/9681958

Il avait un marron en acier dans sa poche. L’émoi est grand au cœur de la compétition.

He had a steel chestnut in his pocket: an octogenarian, winner of the world conker championship in England, is suspected of cheating and the organizers of this traditional game are investigating. The game, which is played by two people, consists of spinning a chestnut on the end of a string in order to smash your opponent's chestnut.

This year, David Jakins, an 82-year-old retired engineer, won the men's title at the edition held on Sunday in the village of Southwick, in the east of England. It was the 46th attempt for the veteran, who has been competing since 1977. But a replica of the metallic brown was found in his pocket by the organizers after his victory.

My brown disintegrated in one hit, which never happens

David Jakins, for his part, denies having used it in the competition. The unfortunate finalist, Alastair Johnson-Ferguson, is sceptical. “My chestnut disintegrated in one fell swoop, which never happens. I suspect fraud and have expressed my surprise to the organisers,”, he told The Daily Telegraph newspaper.

Investigation ongoing, video to support

The shock is all the greater because David Jakins was in charge of piercing and inserting the strings into the participants' chestnuts, as “King Conker”. St John Burkett, a member of the organizing committee, said an investigation was underway but that initial evidence tended to exonerate Jakins.

“We still need to gather more testimony. We are also looking closely at a video,”, he said. “The available evidence appears to exonerate Mr Jakins but we have yet to confirm this”, Mr Burkett added.

More than 200 people took part in the world championship, which was held in front of 2,000 spectators and raises funds for charity.

The origins of the game are said to date back to 1848 on the Isle of Wight in the English Channel, but the world championship has been held since 1965. It has since spread outside the UK, with an annual championship held in the Dordogne, France.

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