Coach Ng Fai-yeung was yesterday suspended until the end of 2010 for commandeering a runner's race number in last month's Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon so he could join the race.
Ng was found guilty by the Hong Kong Amateur Athletic Association (HKAAA) of taking marathon runner Lau Kwong-man's race-number bib and using it to gain access to the course and act as a pace-setter for women's runner Ada Leong Yuen-fan during the race.
Lau and Leong are trained by Ng (pictured) and were representing Hong Kong in the Greatest Race On Earth (Groe) marathon series on that day. The series sees teams compete in four international city marathons, with the Hong Kong leg being the climax. Ng was the Hong Kong team manager for the series.
Lau, who was later disqualified from the race, received a nine-month ban for breaking race rules by lending his race-number bib to another person.
The decision means Lau, a top distance runner, will not be able to represent Hong Kong when the city hosts the East Asian Games in December. Leong was initially also disqualified from the race, but had the decision overturned on appeal.
It is understood she argued she had played no part in Ng's action as her pace-setter. Leong finished third in the Groe series' North East Asia and Rest of the World category in a time of two hours, 59 minutes and 39 seconds. Lau finished fifth in the same category for men in 2:40.29, but the result is nullified following his disqualification.
