Con-artist attempt at the Victoria Falls Half-Marathon

https://www.instagram.com/p/BiMm8mVgVeQ/?hl=en&taken-by=victoriafallsmarathon

On Sunday alleged half-marathon participant, Brenda Makonyore falsely claimed that she was the winner of the Victoria Falls Half-Marathon in Zimbabwe. Makonyore suggested that she finished ahead of Bertha Chikanga, who was confirmed the winner of the women’s competition.

Makonyore appeared in the men’s results instead of the female competition, and claimed this as a mistake. 

The half-marathon results have been highly contested on social media with runners and fans accusing the meet organizers of, “robbing Brenda of her prize money.” 

Please Econet may you give Brenda her prize money for crying out loud. #justiceforbrenda

— Henry (@henzomadak) July 3, 2018

Twitter users created #JusticeForBrenda in support of the runner. 

Inspection from race organizers and sponsors has revealed that Makonyore did not cross the finish line in first. Beyond that, it’s unsure if she ever started the race. 

Video evidence shows a male athlete crossing the finish line with Makonyore’s number, and there’s no photo of video evidence of Makonyore participating in the race. 

Victoria Falls Half-Marathon time keeper David Muller reportedly said, “The female athlete that came to query the result and claiming to be the rightful winner appears nowhere in the section of the video I reviewed (at the finish line). Considering the above, we stand by our decision to remove the competitor from the female results of the 21.1K event.”