Two Men Disqualified After Illegal Substitutions in Women’s Top 10 At Two Oceans Half Marathon

• Two men have been disqualified from the Two Oceans Half Marathon after allegedly entering under other runners’ identities
• The incident reshuffled the women’s top 10 results, with rightful finishers initially left out of the prize-giving due to delayed corrections
• Race officials are now investigating the matter further, with disciplinary action expected following the discovery of irregular entries and final standings changes

Two runners were caught on the wrong side of the rules and regulations at the Two Oceans Marathon on Sunday, 12 April 2026, in Cape Town.

The iconic event was missing one of its familiar names after former Comrades Marathon winner Bruce Fordyce bid an emotional farewell to the race days before its commencement.

The race was eventually won by the legendary South African runner Gerda Steyn, while there was a dramatic finish for the bronze medallist, Nobuhle Nobukhosi Tshuma, who crawled all the way to the finish line in the final metres of the race. The silver medal went to Margaret Chepchumba.

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But another moment of controversy has come to the fore after two men were disqualified following illegal substitutions that saw them finishing inside the women’s top 10.

Two Oceans Marathon board member discovers illegalities

The discovery was made by one of the race board members, Stuart Mann, on Tuesday, 14 April. He alleged that Luke Jacobs ran the race using Larissa Parekh’s race number. Jacobs went on to finish seventh in the women’s race.

The other participant ran with Tegan Garvey’s number and went on to finish in 10th position. Further evidence from screenshots showed that Parekh had actually completed the race in 1:23:06, while Garvey finished three places behind in 1:24:27. However, the names were later changed on the official results.

This meant that runners who finished 11th and 12th, Alexa Townsend and Karin Mari Dotze, should have instead both been placed inside the top 10. As a result, Dotze was not included in the prize-giving ceremony due to the delay in correcting the results.

According to reports, both men implicated in the incident are expected to face disciplinary action.

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Apologies issued after rule breaches at iconic Cape race

Responding on his blog, The Running Mann, Jacobs said:

“Hi Stuart, I did not plan on participating this year. While supporting on Saturday, I was given an unused entry by an international runner for the following day. I made an error in judgment and did not consider the consequences. I should not have taken part.”

He further extended an apology, while Garvey also issued an apology following the incident.

As seen in the post below:

Runner claims he was robbed during the race

Briefly News previously reported that a Two Oceans Marathon runner claimed he was robbed over the weekend during the ultra-marathon race in Cape Town while he was running.

On Sunday, a fellow runner at the marathon, Oscar Von Platen, took to social media to report that he had a horrible experience after a robbery ruined his day.

Proofreading by Kelly Lippke, copy editor at Briefly.co.za.

Source: Briefly News