Run Rutherford Run.

"Gold medallists - very rare breeds"

Olympic Gold medallist Greg Rutherford is no ordinary fellow to look at. A gangly 6 feet 2 inches in height, carrying the robust solid frame of an athletic ectomorph, and - more than anything, a ginger. The twenty-six year old from Milton Keynes  - even if he wasn't a nationally celebrated hero, carries aesthetics which leave him easily noticeable in any crowd.

There is a guy at my gym who - besides one random Sunday in December, I have never seen before until this week. He is a gangly 6 feet 2 inches in height, carries the robust frame of a moderately athletic ectomorph, and – more than anything, is a ginger. He is also around twenty-six years of age, and carries the exact same facial features of a certain British ginger Long-Jump Gold medallist. If you did not know any better - and by all accounts, I was hardly sure myself. You would genuinely believe he is in fact, Greg Rutherford. The funny thing about this is… he isn’t.

It is hard to explain without a photo, but this guy is the literal doppelgänger of the Olympic champion; I mean, it is almost as if somebody shoved a drugged up Rutherford inside some kind of scientific cloning device without his knowledge, and created this fellow. It is only through a little research, I was able to decipher five reasons to convince myself he is in fact, not the Gregster; each one, more convincing than the last…

1; He has an oriental symbol tattoo on his calf. Rutherford – at least in August 2012, didn’t.
2; His training methods are shit. I doubt any Gold medallist leans into the bars of a Stairmaster, or walks for an hour on a treadmill; likes he’s strolling along Richmond Park on a summer’s day.
3; His physique is slim, yet doughy with love handles. Unless a Shot Putter or Weightlifter – Olympians obliques are very rarely surrounded in folds of blubber.
4; Greg Rutherford tweeted three hours after the gym session of his lookalike, how he had just landed in Australia. I know long-jumpers can run fast, but I doubt he is that fucking fast.
5; The most sound evidence of all – he is a member of Fitness First. 

"Looking like a bad actor - even crossing time"

Beyond this evidence, he is still scarily similar in looks. I am a firm believer that every human being has an exact replica of themselves, somewhere on this planet. They could live a town away, or across the world in some remote island, but they are there. Look at the super-famous or powerful; everyone of them always has a lesser-known doppelgänger (German for 'double goer), who makes a living pretending to be this person - wonderful if you are the Tom Cruise double, kinda shit for the pseudo-Gary Glitter.

The question I wonder between each set of doubles, is how similar - or different, are their personalities? Do they have the same sense of humour? Or interests and hobbies? Do they carry an unknown cosmic energy with the other, which borders on telepathy? Or does the world explode into a zillion particles – should two doppelgängers ever happen to meet? And what about twins? Are they their own replicas? What would happen if the actual Greg Rutherford entered a gym and saw this guy? And if this is all true, where is my lookalike? I guess he must be busy living his life as an international model and playboy; breaking hearts as he collects some more Viagra, from the chemist for Hugh Hefner.

This is more a question designed as a blog. But it does make me wonder. Maybe you have similar stories about lookalikes you have met, or known in your lives who look just like you - or even someone else.  If you do, I would love to hear about them...

Lee.