Auckland Marathon apologises over hoodie printing bungle that omits female runners’ names
The Auckland Marathon has apologized for a printing error that omitted the names of female participants from commemorative hoodies and T-shirts. The organizers are offering refunds and arranging reprints to correct the mistake.
Why it matters
The incident highlights the importance of inclusivity and attention to detail in event management, particularly regarding gender representation in sports.
Auckland Marathon is apologising to women after an “unintentional printing error” meant all female runners’ names were left off commemorative hoodies.
A female Auckland Half Marathon competitor was the first to question the mistake on social media, and described the situation as “low-key diabolical”.
In a TikTok video viewed more than 100,000 times, new runner and poster Tasi discovered the women’s Auckland Half Marathon hoodie had only male participants’ names printed on the back.
An Auckland Marathon spokesperson said that “regretfully, an unintentional printing error has resulted in the men’s participant names being printed on both the men’s and women’s half marathon named T-shirts and hoodies”.
They said that with 8000 registered participants in the half marathon, of which 46% are women, the men’s and women’s name lists were separated for printing.
“Unfortunately, the wrong list was used for the women’s items.”
Also covering this story
One other newsroom covered this event. We read that version too.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in