Berliner Tageblatt - China bans runner after mid-marathon splits goes viral

The incidents happened during Sunday's marathon in the southwestern city of Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, and were widely shared online.

Videos showed a woman runner stopping suddenly and dropping to the ground with her legs in a perfect splits position, holding up her arms in a heart shape as she apparently posed for a photograph.

"(She) committed obstructive fouls during the race, affecting the safe participation of other runners," the Sichuan Athletics Association said in a statement, which identified the runner by her surname Wang.

A viral photo also showed a man in a neon yellow top carrying a transparent drawstring backpack packed to the brim with packets of energy gels and other food supplies, all apparently taken from supply stations during the race.

The male runner, surnamed Zhang, had "illegally taken a large quantity of race supplies for personal use", the association said.

Both have been banned from marathons in Sichuan for two years, it said.

This was to "enforce race discipline, maintain a fair competition environment... and ensure the safe and orderly conduct of events".

Both runners were also disqualified from Sunday's race.

Footage of the incidents attracted up to three million views on China's Weibo micro-blogging platform and sparked a social media backlash.

"These people should be permanently banned from participating in all marathon races," one angry user said.

"All (these are) manifestations of extreme selfishness," another user posted.

It is just the latest incident to hit China's fast-growing marathon scene.

A race official was suspended for a year this month after he mistakenly blocked the eventual winner from crossing the finish line at an event in Chongqing.

Previous incidents also included marathon runners jumping on rental bikes and making shortcuts.

M.Ouellet--BTB