BEIJING: China has suspended a marathon race official for one year after he mistakenly blocked the eventual winner from crossing the finish line at an event in Chongqing.
The incident, captured in a widely shared video, occurred during Sunday’s Chongqing Wanzhou Marathon and sparked anger online, prompting local athletics authorities to discipline the official and call for “deep self-reflection”.
Footage shows leading runner Sheng Xueli sprinting alone towards the line at around 2hr 23min 52sec when a raincoat-clad referee suddenly steps forward, stretches out his arms and stops him.
The official then pushes Sheng into a separate lane used by half-marathon runners. Sheng was allowed to cross the finish seconds later, dropping to his knees in celebration.
The Chongqing Athletics Association said on Monday it had suspended the referee, identified only by the surname Zhu, from officiating marathon events for a year as he “incorrectly identified an athlete’s category and obstructed an athlete who was running normally as they approached the finish line”.
“This behaviour affected the normal progress of the race and caused a negative social impact,” the association said, urging Zhu to “conduct a serious self-reflection and to recognise the seriousness of officiating work”.
Sheng said in a video posted on what appears to be his Douyin account that he was “bewildered” when he was abruptly stopped but said he did not wish to blame anyone.
“I understand that the on-site staff may have lacked professional training or a clear grasp of the rules,” he said, adding that he hoped all athletes could be treated with respect.
A hashtag about the official’s suspension was widely shared on Chinese social media outlets, and viewed over 8.6 million times on Weibo.
Published in Dawn, March 18th, 2026
