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China bans ultramarathons and off-road races after 21 die in Gansu tragedy

  • Races in mountainous areas, cross-desert, ultra distance and other newly popular sports activities that involve high risk have been suspended
  • General Administration of Sport acts on safety and organisation after competitors caught in sudden storm in race in Gansu province

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China has now banned all outdoor long-distance races in the wake of the Yellow River Stone Forest 100km Trail Race tragedy. Photo: Baidu

The Chinese government has banned all ultramarathon-styled races in the wake of the tragedy that saw 21 runners die during the Yellow River Stone Forest 100km Trail Race in Gansu province.

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On May 22, during a mountain cross-country competition, 21 runners died after being caught in a sudden storm and freezing temperatures. The tragedy shocked China and the rest of the world. The race organisers were heavily criticised on a number of fronts in terms of safety planning and logistics.

The tragedy was followed by a string of suspensions and now the General Administration of Sport of China has declared a range of running disciplines as insufficiently regulated and lacking well-defined safety standards, and suspended all these types of races, effective immediately.

The announcement said in Chinese that: “On the 22nd of May, the public safety incident at Bayin City Stone Forest 100km Trail Race in Gansu Province, in part due to sudden changes in weather, caused a great loss of human life – a lesson imbued with deeply felt grief.

Severe weather and poor racing organisation has been blamed for the death of 21 Chinese runners. Photo: Xinhua
Severe weather and poor racing organisation has been blamed for the death of 21 Chinese runners. Photo: Xinhua
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“In order to fully guarantee the health and to safeguard the lives of the people, races in mountainous areas, cross-desert races, ultra distance races and other such newly popular sport activities that involve high risk, management duties are unclear, regulations not perfected and safety standards not clear-cut, are suspended from this day.”

The GAS is now expected to carry out a thorough examination of races and their organisational standards in relation to safety. The GAS also highlighted the need to make emergency rescue, pandemic prevention and topographic and meteorological factors the central issues in the organisation of events, and also to carry out comprehensive assessments of risks that may be involved.

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