Opportunity said Wong purchased the entry from a competitor who was unable to participate.
At first, a spokesperson for the party told the Herald that Wong had been cleared to run with the bib, but now the party leader has offered to forfeit the run time.
“After learning of Runaway Auckland Marathon’s terms and conditions, I acknowledge that a name transfer was not completed before the cut-off time,” Wong told the Herald.
“I offered to have my result disqualified and accept that it is an appropriate outcome.”
The woman to whom the bib was originally registered also confirmed the arrangement in a Facebook comment.
“I was unwell before the 11km and Qiulae kindly bought my ticket. I can confirm that Qiulae ran the 11km race and I’m so stoked to see how well she did.”
The Auckland Marathon’s 11km Traverse had an advertised entry fee of $157.
Qiulae Wong completed the 11km event in just over an hour. Photo / Dean Purcell
Opportunity said race officials were told Wong was using an entry transferred from another runner after the deadline for changing registration details and they approved her participation.
“Qiulae received her registration by transfer from another competitor after the date that it was possible to change the registration to her name. Race officials were informed and they were happy for Qiulae to run,” a party spokesperson told the Herald.
The Auckland Marathon has been contacted multiple times for comment but has not responded.
Wong completed Sunday’s 11km Traverse across the Auckland Harbour Bridge and described it as “epic”.
“Couldn’t quite train for the half or full with all the campaigning but it was great to participate in this awesome event,” she wrote in the caption of an Instagram video showing clips of her running.
The Opportunity Party shared an image of Wong giving two thumbs up after crossing the finish line, saying she “smashed it”.
Wong is no stranger to running, having completed 15 parkrun events, including 12 at Auckland’s Ōwairaka course, where she recorded a personal best of 24 minutes and 21 seconds over 5km in April last year.