One of South Africa’s most prestigious annual running events has been marred by a brazen act of cheating that saw two male runners disqualified for posing as female competitors to secure top-10 finishes at the iconic Two Oceans Marathon. Held in Cape Town on April 12, the race draws more than 16,000 competitors annually across two distances: a 56-kilometer ultramarathon and a 21.1-kilometer half marathon. Earning a spot in the top 10 is widely considered a major career milestone for most amateur and professional runners alike, making the deceptive scheme all the more damaging to honest participants who trained for months to compete. The two men, identified as Luke Jacobs and Nic Bradfield, initially crossed the finish line in seventh and 10th place in the women’s division, pushing two legitimate female runners outside of the top 10 rankings before the fraud was uncovered. The cheating plot was ultimately exposed by Stuart Mann, a member of the Two Oceans Marathon board, after online photos and race timing technology revealed the ruse. Mann first received a public tip after Jacobs posted social media photos of himself at the finish line, where sharp-eyed observers noticed the name printed on his race bib was “Larissa” — not a name matching any male competitor. Further investigation confirmed Jacobs was running under a bib registered to Larissa Parekh, a female athlete originally signed up for the women’s race. A second discrepancy emerged when official finish line observer records clashed with data from the RFID timing chips embedded in all race bibs: officials had only recorded 10 women crossing the top-10 mark, but chip data showed two additional female-registered bibs had finished in the top window. That mismatch led investigators to Bradfield, who was found to be running under a bib registered to another female runner, Tegan Garvey. Garvey later admitted she had given Bradfield her bib after a sudden hip injury left her unable to compete just one day before the race. “The day before, my hip gave in completely, leaving me unable to even walk. I felt bad as to give up my race entry so my friend ran in my place,” Garvey explained in a post-scandal statement. In the wake of the exposure, Jacobs issued a written apology for his actions, admitting he had made a severe lapse in judgment. “I made an error in judgment and did not consider the consequences. I should not have taken part,” Jacobs wrote. Parekh has not offered a clear public explanation for her role in the scheme, Mann confirmed, though both Garvey and Parekh have issued formal apologies and already received two-year competition bans from the Two Oceans Marathon event. The two disqualified male runners now face formal disciplinary action from the race’s independent disciplinary subcommittee, with additional sanctions likely to be announced in the coming weeks. Following the disqualification, the two female runners who were originally pushed outside the top 10 have been officially recognized for their legitimate top-10 finishes. Mann, who led the investigation into the cheating, emphasized that bib swapping has grown increasingly common in distance running in recent years — but the practice carries far more severe consequences than just unfair competition. Beyond the ethical breach that undermines the hard work of honest runners, Mann warned bib swapping poses serious life-threatening health risks during races. “Not only is it considered unethical, but it also poses health and medical risks in case of an emergency as wrong medication may be administered to a wrong person,” Mann explained. Runners engage in bib swapping for a range of motivations, he added: some do it to avoid losing entry fees when an injury or last-minute emergency prevents them from competing, while more intentional cheaters use the tactic to secure faster qualifying times for prestigious future races. The scandal comes as distance running governing bodies around the world are cracking down on fraudulent entry practices, with many events increasing the use of chip timing, photo verification and post-race social media monitoring to catch cheaters before unfair results are finalized.
Men caught competing in the women’s category of a prestigious South African marathon
