Chinese race official handed 1-year ban after mistakenly pushing winner off course

March 17, 2026

The winner of the 2026 Chongqing Wanzhou Marathon was stopped and diverted just before the finish line, an incident organisers blamed on an official’s rain-soaked glasses.

Yunnan runner Sheng Xueli was leading by a fair distance on Sunday, but when he approached the finish line, a confused official mistook him for a half-marathon participant and blocked his path. Sheng was then directed into the half-marathon finishers’ chute.

Following the confusion, officials eventually guided him back to symbolically finish and raise his arms for a commemorative photo.

While Sheng initially told the event’s media that the “volunteers and staff were very careful and earnest”, he later revealed that the sudden stop in the final 10 metres caused a tibialis anterior muscle strain.

Video clips of the incident quickly went viral online on the mainland, sparking public debate on race management. South China Morning Post