Posted on 12/01/2018 7:36:21 PM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
A half marathon in China made international news for all the wrong reasons: Hundreds of participants were caught cheating at the Shenzhen Half Marathon on November 25.
Officials punished 258 runners for cheating. That included 18 runners with fake bib numbers, three people who competed as different registered runners, and 237 entrants who cut the course, according to Chinese state news agency Xinhua.
While the runners using fake bibs and the imposters were banned for life, the 237 athletes who cut the course will receive a two-year ban from the event. Those runners were actually caught on video by a traffic camera, which showed hundreds of entrants running through bushes to cut 2 to 3K from the full half marathon distance.
The fake bibs were revealed by a photographer who took a picture of two runners wearing identical numbers during the race.
“We deeply regret the violations that occurred during the event. Marathon running is not simply exercise, it is a metaphor for life, and every runner is responsible for him or herself,” race organizers told Xinhua in a statement.
Road races are currently on the rise in China. There were 1,072 marathons and races of other distances held in the country last year—a big increase from the 22 in 2011, according to Chinese Athletics Association data cited in the article.
While the number of runners caught cheating in this event was extensive, it’s by no means the first time it’s occurred in a race. In fact, just in the past few years, there have been examples of mass cheating at the 2015 Honolulu Marathon, the 2017 Disney World Marathon, and the 2017 and 2018 Mexico City Marathon.
But one reason the cheating at the Shenzhen race is getting so much attention is simply because there’s solid video evidence of it actually occurring, Marathon Investigation founder Derek Murphy wrote on his site.
“This happens on a comparable scale at nearly every race where the course provides the opportunity to cut across a street to shave a few miles. Maybe it’s 100 runners, maybe it’s 300,” his post read. “We should stop acting shocked. Until cheating runners have real consequences, there is no deterrent to this behavior.”
In other areas in China, race officials are taking high-tech steps to guard against race cheating: For instance, the Hangzhou International Marathon planned on using facial recognition software as a way to prevent fraud in this year’s event. In 2017, the Beijing Half Marathon used similar technology to guard against cheating, too.
Did you run it, or were you in the audience. If you ran it, congratulations!
Seriously?
Is there a way for a Chinaman to check his communist Social Score online?
I wonder if any of those who cut the course were innocent - following the person in front of them. I can imagine getting to mile 18 and my mind is no longer functioning beyond left, then right, then left again (almost like being back in the military).
Maybe “Commissar.com”?
Chinese people feel the same about marathon rules as they do about trade laws.
Rules are made for the other guy, not us!
And their businessmen and global, government negotiators too.
It is a very different culture.
You are applying experience informed in an environment of Western ethics to another situation.
The Chinese don’t have a concept of cheating. There is only gaining advantage by whatever means possible and winning.
Maybe, but if there is, checking the score probably lowers it, just like credit scores in the US.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.