Organizers disqualified a man and handed down a lifetime ban after determining he had run as a stand-in in a women's half marathon. Local outlets, including Hongxing News, reported on March 23 that the winner of the women's half at the March 22 race in Anyang, Henan Province, was male.
The issue came to light after the organizing committee posted the winners' list on the 14th and allegations surfaced that a man had worn a female participant's bib and competed in her stead.
On the 17th the committee confirmed the claims, voided the results and rankings for three competitors, and issued lifetime bans. It has referred the case to the Chinese Athletics Association for further disciplinary action.
The committee said the violation went undetected during the race because the event drew roughly 20,000 runners, the verification lanes at the start were narrow, and the fast-moving field made it impractical to check every participant's identity.
About 26,000 people entered the A1-level race sanctioned by the Chinese Athletics Association. The event included both full- and half-marathon distances, and the first-place prize for the women's half was 1,000 yuan (about 216,000 KRW (approximately $162)).
