ASICS runners probed over Two Oceans ‘race-number switch’

Two ASICS-sponsored runners are being probed for allegedly swopping race numbers and timing chips at the Two Oceans Marathon in Cape Town earlier this year. 

Reegan Alward was registered to run the 56km ultra-marathon under the race number C25299, but photographic evidence shows that the person running with that bib was her ASICS FrontRunner teammate Charmaine Mohokare. 

The 5hr 25min 21sec finish time is listed under Alward’s name on the official results website, and it’s almost an hour faster than Alward’s previous best effort of 06:22:46 from 2017. 

TimesLIVE has seen photographic evidence — from the JetLine Action Photo website where runners can buy pictures of them during the race, as well as Mohokare’s own Instagram account —and alerted the Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon (OMTOM) as well as ASICS officials. 

Both are now investigating the matter.

OMTOM general manager Carol Vosloo said it appeared that Mohokare running in Alward’s number and timing chip was “illegal” and both runners would be notified of the transgression and given 14 days to respond.

“We take this transgression very seriously,” said Vosloo. “There is a significant safety risk to running with someone else’s number as it may affect the care that individuals receive in case of emergency.

“The fact that this runner ran with another’s race number and timing chip shows that this is not a mistake.”

Vosloo ruled out the possibility of an accidental mix-up, explaining that runners had to show proof of identity when collecting their race numbers.

Each race number has the runner’s first name printed on it, and in every photo of Mohokare, the name on her bib — presumably reading Reegan — is obscured. 

Vosloo said if Alward and Mohokare were found guilty, the result would be disqualified and both runners would be banned from Two Oceans for two years. The disciplinary outcome would also be reported to Western Province Athletics.

ASICS South Africa’s Shannon Mandel said they were not aware of the apparent swop and were investigating the incident.

Alward, a mechanical engineering student at the University of Pretoria, could not be reached for comment and did not respond to SMS requests asking for her version of events. 

It appears that she didn’t run the 2018 Two Oceans, and that Mohokare wasn’t registered to run.

Mohokare, seen in 22 pictures across the Two Oceans route, pinned the blame on race organisers, calling the substitution process “a mess”. 

She said she had registered as a substitute and paid another runner for the entry.  Mohokare, who works in the Speaker’s office at the Tshwane metro, booked flights from Johannesburg to Cape Town thinking she was registered as a substitute, but when she went to collect her entry the night before the race found out her entry was incomplete.

“That guy [a race official] said to me I should have entered my credit card details and Two Oceans would refund that person [the runner she tried to substitute].”

Mohokare claimed she asked for help but nobody was able to offer assistance. “I am well known in the running community and lots of people tried to assist me. I was literally in tears.”

Vosloo said the substitution process was changed for this year’s race. 

Previously, runners would often sell their race numbers for substitution at exorbitant prices, but the new process required substitutes simply to pay OMTOM a R165 administration fee. 

Vosloo said records showed Mohokare had attempted to do a substitution, but the process was not completed and the R165 fee not paid. 

“Without that payment the substitution process is not complete her entry status remains incomplete. There are no records of her contacting the office via email, nor via social media, to resolve incomplete entry.”

Mohokare is adamant she did “not break the rules” and ran under her own race number. 

When it was pointed out that the race number in the 22 pictures on Jetline belonged to Alward, Mohokare suggested the images might have been photoshopped. 

But a photo she posted herself on her own Instagram account showed her wearing Alward’s race number. After TimesLIVE pointed this out to her, the image was deleted. 

JetLine's managing director Johanna Ginsberg denied they Photoshop images. “We have never and would never Photoshop a race number as this would result in us losing all credibility as well as the contract we hold with events.”

Mohokare also posted other images relating to the race, one of which listed her times at various points during the race. These times are identical to those of the timing chip results belonging to Alward, a member of Phobians Athletics Club.

Phobians vice chairman, Leon Ganswyk, told TimesLIVE Alward had completed the Two Oceans.