Bikes, shortcuts, bibs for cash: China marathon cheats run rampant

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 -- some laughably audacious -- to break the rules.

The Chinese Athletic Association (CAA) issued lifetime bans to three runners who cheated at the prestigious 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.

Their behaviour "had a negative impact on China in the (international) community", the CAA said in a statement.

An official with the CAA's marathon department who spoke on condition of anonymity told AFP the association was investigating cases of cheating at other marathons in China.

A Chinese sports travel agency charged runners 50,000 yuan ($7,500) to register them for Boston, including allegedly arranging bogus certificates proving they had achieved fast enough times in other races to qualify, China National Radio reported. Some cheats have not been so subtle.

In March a woman was filmed riding a green rental bike in the Xuzhou International Marathon in eastern China and at November's half-marathon in Shenzhen more than 250 runners cheated, including many who took shortcuts.

Traffic cameras caught participants darting from one side of the road to the other.

- 'Lack of marathon culture' -
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But Yu Hongchen, a CAA vice-president, told the China Daily: "Chinese marathon development has encountered many difficulties, the first of which is the lack of a marathon culture and awareness of the rules."
- 'Cheating a national sport' -
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"China is part of such a group but not a special concern."