Conker champion is cleared of cheating in world final | UK News

The king of conker championships has been cleared of dishonest accusations on this planet event.

David Jakins, 82, was thrown into the attention of the storm after a steel conker was found in his pocket on the World Conker Championships.

Jakins – also referred to as ‘King Conker’ – was the topic of an investigation trying into the metal chestnut incident following accusations of dishonest.

He beat his opponent within the semi-final and last with one strike – virtually unprecedented within the sport.

Now the retired engineer has been cleared by the organisers after they discovered no proof it was truly used within the competitors.

His opponent, Alistair Johnson-Ferguson, has additionally withdrawn the sooner accusations in opposition to Jakins.

Jakins, who has competed yearly since 1977, mentioned he gained because of many years of follow and by taking part in like a gentleman.

He additionally vowed by no means to convey his steel dummy conker to the event.

The reigning ‘King Conker’ mentioned: ‘I’m so relieved to be cleared. It’s been a disturbing week. The telephone hasn’t stopped ringing.

‘We’re gents on the World Conker Championships and we don’t cheat. I’ve been taking part in and working towards for many years. That’s how I gained.

‘I admit I had the metal conker in my pocket, however I didn’t play with it. I present it to individuals as a joke. However I gained’t be bringing it to the event once more in spite of everything the eye previously week.’

The investigation was launched after his opponent, Alistair Johnson-Ferguson, 23, mentioned his conker ‘disintegrated in a single hit, and that simply doesn’t occur.’

Consultants analysed his conker after the controversial strike however they concluded that there was ‘no proof that the metal conker was used.’

Johnson-Ferguson, from London, has now made a U-turn on his accusations of foul play.

He instructed he made up the dishonest scandal, saying ‘there was no option to cheat.’

He mentioned: ‘All I wish to say is I’m positive it was very reasonable – there was no option to cheat. They don’t actually need to do anything.

‘It was fully truthful. Simply don’t name me a sore loser.’

The 23-year-old mentioned he was attempting ‘to place this factor a bit behind me now.’

Jim Packer, the occasion chairman, commented on his response to the BBC: ‘Any person’s a sore loser, I believe.’

A spokesperson for the World Conker Championships weighed in concerning the sport final Sunday: ‘Now we have studied images and movies of matches, interviewed judges and examined the chestnuts utilized by King Conker.

‘The investigation has discovered no proof that the metal conker was used. King Conker has been cleared of suspicion, and his identify is being engraved on the trophy.’

The metal conker was discovered to be virtually an identical to an actual chestnut. Nevertheless, the 4cm steel model weighs round 200 grams – as much as ten instances greater than a standard conker.

However insiders inside the sport mentioned the accusations levelled in opposition to Jakins have been unfounded, saying that the metal conker has been a well-liked function of the occasion, MailOnline experiences.

Jakins is understood for telling youngsters he bets they’ll’t smash it earlier than revealing it’s manufactured from steel as a part of a operating joke.

The sport attracted 256 gamers and a pair of,000 followers to Southwick, Northamptonshire.

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Whereas Jakins gained the Males’s Open, the general winner was American girls’s champion Kelci Banschbach, 34, from Indiana. She mentioned simply two years in the past, she had no concept what a conker was.

Jakins, from Warmington, Northamptonshire, added: ‘I’d prefer to thank everybody for his or her curiosity in our sport, and encourage them to get out and play conkers. And in the event you assume you possibly can beat me, come and play within the Championships subsequent 12 months.’

Conker lovers have been coming collectively to compete within the championships since 1965.

The occasion, organised by Ashton Conker Membership, has raised £420,000 for charity through the years.

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