As Minister for Sport at the time of the Beijing Olympics he entered a wager with his Australian counterpart Kate Ellis that Great Britain would finish above Australia in the final medal table, with each Minister promising to wear the opposite nation's colours to a sporting event if they lose.
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The race featured over 4000 competitors at its inaugural edition, and also succeeded in attracting high-calibre elite athletes such as marathon world record breakers Haile Gebrselassie and Catherine Ndereba, as well as Australian 2008 Olympians Craig Mottram and Benita Johnson.