Race rules come under scrutiny after bib swaps. Two Oceans controversy has deepened after organisers disqualified two men who ran the women’s half-marathon in other runners’ bibs and finished inside the top 10,Cape {town} Etc reports.
According to The Running Mann, the breach changed the results and pushed legitimate finishers further down the standings.
The Two Oceans Marathon rules say handing a race bib to another runner outside the formal substitution process is ‘strictly prohibited’ and that failure to comply may lead to a disciplinary process and a ban from future events.
Running blogger Stuart Mann said Luke Jacobs ran in Larissa Parekh’s race number and later admitted the mistake.
In a message quoted on his site, Jacobs said, ‘I made an error in judgment and did not consider the consequences. I should not have taken part.’ Mann also quoted Tegan Garvey, who said she ‘did not consider the severe implications’ of giving her entry to a friend.
The incident has drawn attention to race integrity, medical safety and the fairness of official results.
Organisers have since removed the runners from the standings, while the event’s rules stress that each runner must be correctly captured in the system for legal, medical and timing reasons.
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Picture: Two Oceans Marathon / Facebook
