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SHANGHAI (Reuters) – More than 250 runners cheated last weekend's half marathon in Shenzhen, many of whom took shortcuts, the official Chinese media reported on Thursday (November 29th) as "deeply ashamed."
The marathon and leisure run is growing strongly in China despite the pollution that often covers large cities, participants wearing the latest fashionable equipment and wearable technologies.
However, the sport has been in the headlines of the past few weeks.
During Sunday's race in Shenzhen, on the other side of the border with Hong Kong, 258 runners were penalized for cheating, the Xinhua news agency reported.
More than a dozen had fake bib numbers and three were running in place of someone else, but most were guilty of having cut the bottom corners, the report said. , quoting the organizers.
In the most egregious case, a traffic camera surprised runners turning at least 1 km before it could turn around, potentially reducing the distance of 21 km by 2 or 3 km.
The most serious offenders face lifelong bans on the race.
"We deeply regret the violations that took place during the event," the Shenzhen organizers said in a statement, according to Xinhua.
"The marathon is not just an exercise, it's a metaphor for life and every runner is responsible for himself."
Xinhua, barely masking her disgust at widespread cheating, described her as "deeply ashamed" and added, "Whatever the participants or organizers, they need to think: What is the meaning of participation and running marathons?
"Do not run and do not forget why you're running, do not let the marathon go sour."
By the way, runner He Yinli unintentionally unleashed a national debate on patriotism after an overly enthusiastic volunteer rushed to the course to hand him a Chinese flag while she was trying to win the marathon victory. from Suzhou earlier this month.
She held him briefly before dropping him to the floor, later explaining that he had missed it.
Some Chinese netizens have questioned patriotism for dropping the flag, but many have blamed the volunteer for being ingested.
He Yinli was beaten to the lineup after the fiasco.
In 2011, according to the Association of Chinese Athletics (CAA), there were only 22 marathons, half marathons or other running events in China.
However, that figure has climbed to nearly 1,100 this year.
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