Active Investigation
#marathongate
Investigating Qiulae Wong's appearance at the Auckland Marathon on 1 November 2026
On 1 November leader of the Opportunity Party Qiulae Wong ran across the finish line at the 2026 Auckland Marathon. The moment was captured by NZ mainstream media outlets and framed in a way that led people to believe she had completed the marathon-length event.
Members of the public looked up her race number and found that the name assigned to that entrant, was not Qiulae Wong, and the distance was 11km, not 42km.
Questions started to be asked, and people started looking closer.
Timeline
1 NOVEMBER
- 11:53pm: Qiulae Wong Facebook post
- 12:53pm: Opportunity Party Facebook post
- 5:40pm:
- 6:00pm: 1News Election Update - Qiulae marathon top story
- 7:30pm: Penny Marie posts reel asking questions
- 7:42pm: 1News: Election Wrap: Headline
- 10:14pm: Qiulae Wong Facebook reel
2 NOVEMBER
- Morning: TVNZ Breakfast Show shows brief video of Wong crossing finish line but no story on her participating or of Lucy Bendell (NZMW)
- 8:49am: Stuff: Internet sleuths go deep on Qiulae Wong Auckland Marathon mystery
- 1:17pm: NZ Herald 'Circus and a farce' Winston Peters says Qiulae Wong was meant to run a marathon, but didn't
- Newsroom: Good day/bad day: Right shirt, wrong shirt, no shirt Sherlock
Timeline
3 NOVEMBER
- Lucy Bendell: TVNZ Breakfast personality - Personal Tiktok from event, with Qiulae
- 7:00pm: NZ Herald: Auckland Marathon: Opportunity leader Qiulae Wong offers to forfeit 11km result after late entry
4 NOVEMBER
- 10:45: Penny Marie posts reel with information on 'Blitz The Bridge'
- MSN: Critics wrongly accuse NZ party leader of fabricating race result
- AFP Factcheck: Critics wrongly accuse NZ party leader of fabricating race result
5 NOVEMBER
1 November
Initially I posted this short clip showing the initial discrepancies, and sent an email to the Opportunity Party asking questions that should have been easily answered, to explain the situation.
Health and safety and fairness and honesty, were top of mind.
4 November
The next day, instead of the media picking up the story, the tables were turned on me for asking them. The Opportunity Party corrected their initial statement. Wong offered to self-disqualify. Then I discovered the race number Wong wore did not clock a time on or off the Auckland Harbour Bridge, a key part of the race. I asked the event organisers for an explanation.
9 November
Next a TVNZ presenter posts on her TikTok some footage of herself and Wong at the race. This was then used on a fact-check website to debunk the people questioning. But on closer look at the footage, some things do not stack up. I have more questions. I'd like to find a simple answer and more evidence from the many people present on the day.
