CHEATERS RUN RAMPANT IN CHINA
Race organisers struggling to keep up with growing attempts to break rules
DOZENS have taken shortcuts while one hopped on a bike — cheating by Chinese marathon runners has become so rampant that there are warnings it is harming the country’s reputation.
Running has taken off in China with competitors wearing the latest trendy gear and boasting of their achievements on social media or on job applications to boost their employment prospects.
But race organisers are struggling to keep up with a growing number of attempts to break the rules.
The Chinese Athletic Association (CAA) issued lifetime bans to three runners who cheated at the Boston Marathon in April.
Two of them presented forged certificates to fraudulently reach the strict entry standard, while the third gave his bib to someone else to run for him.
They “had a negative impact on China in the (international) community”, CAA said.
A CAA marathon department official said the association was investigating cases of cheating at other marathons in China.
CAA, which in December issued regulations aimed at cleaning up the sport, declined to say how many Chinese runners have broken the rules.
But CAA vice-president Yu Hongchen said: “Chinese marathon development has encountered many difficulties, the first of which is the lack of a marathon culture and awareness of the rules.”
That “lack of a culture” means some people — eager to show off to friends or prospective bosses — are woefully underprepared for the gruelling demands of a marathon.
The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), the world governing body, endorsed January’s Xiamen Marathon as one of its “Gold Label” road races.
But that did not prevent at least five people from cheating, one of whom sported a mockedup bib.
IAAF declined to comment despite repeated requests.