Shanghai Marathon returns after 2 years
▶ Running event registers 18,000 runners – double the number in 2020
The 2022 Shanghai Marathon was held as scheduled on Sunday after the 2021 edition was canceled due to the resurgence of the COVID-19 epidemic.
A total of 18,000 runners – double the number two years ago – started out at the Golden Bull Plaza on the Bund and ran 42.195 kilometers to finish near the crossroad of Longqi Road and Yunjin Road in Xuhui district.
Yang Shaohui from Southwest China’s Yunnan Province won the men’s event in 2:16:04.
The men’s race was relatively tight, with four runners leading the first group alone. Guan Yousheng, the domestic men’s champion in Shanghai Marathon in 2018, finished second only by two seconds behind. 2020 Shanghai Marathon winner Jia E’renjia took bronze, coming in three seconds behind the winner.
As the champion of Shanghai Marathon, a Platinum Label Road
Race recognized by the World Athletics, Yang qualified for the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
“I hope I can leave no regrets in the World Athletics Championships and the Asian Games next year. I will strive for the good results,” he said.
In the women’s event, Zhang Deshun, also from Yunnan, won the championship finishing with a time of 2:28:17.
“Every marathon event provides a great learning opportunity for me. Only when I compete on the track can I find my shortcomings, so I can make adjustments and improve,” said Zhang.
The organizing committee invited more than 30 top Chinese runners to compete among a field of mainly amateur runners.
As one of the highest-level marathon events in China, the Shanghai Marathon has been held annually since 1996, and has become a symbolic event for marathon enthusiasts.
A total of 26 medical stations and 20 ambulances have been set up along the race track. Two designated hospitals, 300 medical workers and more than 800 volunteers were arranged to ensure the safety of the participants.
“My 39-year-old daughter has been training almost every day before the event and it is so touching that the event can be held as scheduled,” a Shanghai resident told the Global Times.