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A video circulating on social media in China has re-ignited a fierce debate on foreign privileges after it showed that foreign runners were given a 50 meters 'head start' during the 2023 Lanzhou Marathon event.The video below shows participants at the starting line where foreign participants lined up ahead of Chinese participants by 50 meters. Netizens who are knowledgeable about Marathon events commented that the 50 meters distance did not amount to any priority and would not affect the end results because the timer will determine the winner, regardless of where they started.Others argued that 50 meters at the start of the Marathon is insignificant, however, some others felt it was still unfair for Chinese participants.Lanzhou Sports Bureau released a statement after noticing the backlash online caused by the video. The statement said that the Lanzou Marathon has been upgraded to Gold Label Race Marathon, and according to IAAF requirements, they must keep a buffer zone between professional elite and amateurs runners to prevent interference.The statement added that the foreign runners reported were all international elite runners from the top 100 in the IAAF list and were invited by the organizer. There were no Chinese domestic runners who ranked the same among them, explaining the reason why there were only foreigners.Hailemaryam Kiros, Afewerk Mesfin, and Haymanot Alew, all from Ethiopia, took the top three spots in the men's category. Ethiopian runners also swept the top seven places in the men’s contest.The men's event's champion, Hailemaryam Kiros, made a new record by finishing within 2 hours, 8 minutes and 57 seconds. His performance allowed him to surpass the minimum time requirement of 2:09 set by the organizers, earning him the full prize of USD $40,000.Among his fellow Ethiopians, Afewerk Mesfin claimed second place at 2:10:31, earning him USD $15,000, while Haymanot Alew finished third in 2:11:10, which awarded him USD $12,000.In the women’s race, Letebrhan Haylay Gebreslasea, also from Ethiopia, secured the victory with a time of 2:29:09. Tadelech Bekele, another Ethiopian athlete, followed in second place, completing the course in 2:30:04. The podium was completed by Kenya’s Beatrice Cheptoo, who finished with a time of 2:30:17.Gebreslasea received a prize money reward of USD $30,000, while the second and third-place finishers collected USD $15,000 and USD $10,000, respectively.It’s worth noting that none of the participants at the 2023 Lanzhou Marathon achieved the qualifying marks for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The qualifying standards for men and women are set at 2:08:10 and 2:26:50, respectively.
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