Did the homeless man who stole a marathon medal really deserve a jail sentence?

I can think of many people who deserve to be in jail but perhaps not Stanislaw Skupien. The homeless Pole was watching the London Marathon in April when he suddenly fancied a go himself. He clambered over a barrier and started running. When 300 yards form the finish, he picked up a race number which had fallen from a competitor’s short and decided to cross the line himself, picking up the finisher’s medal which should really have gone to a man who was on a charity run.

I guess that is technically fraud, but does it really deserve 16 weeks in jail? It is hardly as if being the 3000th finisher – or whatever – in the London marathon is going to land you with a lucrative sponsorship deal. I have seen far worse cheating in the World Cup which hasn’t even been rewarded with a yellow card. And how much is a plastic marathon medal worth anyway? I have a good mind to give the poor guy one of my marathon medals.