A Chinese Man Rushes onto Marathon Finish Line to Take a Selfie with the Winner...

During a marathon race held in China, an incident occurred where a man invaded the finish line because he wanted to take a photo with the winner.

According to local media including Geukmok Newspaper on the 17th, the incident took place on the 13th at a half marathon event held in Xunyi County, Shanxi Province, in the northwest.

In the video capturing the situation, the Kenyan runner who was in first place was making his final sprint just before the finish line. Suddenly, a man wearing a red athlete uniform from the spectator area invaded the track and started running alongside the Kenyan runner. Surprised by this, race officials quickly rushed over and restrained the man. Fortunately, the Kenyan runner was able to cross the finish line safely without being disturbed.

A man intruded at the finish line of a half marathon held in China.
[Image source=Geukmok Newspaper]

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The man who invaded the track was confirmed to be a participant in the 5km race held alongside the half marathon that day. It was understood that he caused this commotion because he wanted to take a photo with the winner. The man was reprimanded by officials on site and immediately apologized. A local lawyer predicted that the man's sudden act would not result in legal responsibility as it did not materially affect the race outcome.

Local netizens who watched the video expressed various reactions such as, "Wouldn't it have been fine to take the photo after the Kenyan runner crossed the finish line?", "How shameless," "Isn't this intentional interference with the race?", and "It seems like cheating."

Meanwhile, marathon running has recently gained great popularity mainly among the Chinese middle class. However, according to the US NBC broadcast, with the rapid popularization of marathons, moral laxity has also surged. In 2018, the organizers of the Shenzhen Half Marathon caught 258 participants who committed fraud such as wearing fake bib numbers or taking shortcuts.

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