Wuhan Marathon postponed amid surge of Covid-19 cases in China
- Organisers pull the plug just days before 26,000 runners were set to return to Hubei capital, with strict Covid-19 protocols in place
- Registered runners will retain entry for race, which will be rearranged for a later date, and also have their registration fees refunded
The 2021 Wuhan Marathon, which was set to be run on Sunday, has been postponed after a recent rise of Covid-19 cases in a number of Chinese cities.
Officials announced the move in a statement on Friday, but did not confirm a new date for the event, which was last run in April 2019.
“Due to the recent local confirmed cases of new coronary pneumonia in many places in China, to prevent the spread of the epidemic and effectively protect the lives and health of the people, the organising committee has decided that the 2021 Wuhan Marathon [which] was originally expected to be held on October 24, 2021, will be postponed until further notice,” the statement read.
“We apologise for the inconvenience caused by the postponement of the race,” it added.
Registered runners will retain entry for the race, which will be rearranged for a later date, and they will also have their registration fees refunded.
The race was expected to see some 26,000 runners – up on the 24,000 participants in 2019 – descend on the capital of Hubei province, with strict Covid-19 protocols in place.
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It had been reported that 200 entries for Sunday’s now-postponed race had been saved for the city’s medical workers after their help in the fight against Covid-19.
Last year’s Wuhan Marathon was cancelled entirely, with the city the site of the earliest outbreak of the virus, and Chinese sporting events have been among the hardest hit globally.
A number of international events set to be held in China have been either cancelled or postponed, as the country’s borders have remained largely closed to foreigners.
There have been a handful of notable exceptions, including the visit of the South Korean women’s national football team for a Tokyo 2020 Olympics qualifying play-off, and the Guam men’s national football team for a Fifa World Cup Qatar 2022 qualifier.
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Recent weeks have seen more international athletes allowed in, as China began test events for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games, while Xian, the capital of Shaanxi province, hosted last month’s China National Games.
The Beijing Marathon is set to return on October 31, though it is limited to runners living in the Chinese capital and invited elite runners.
China’s Formula 1 Grand Prix has also been left off the calendar for the 2022 season, while next month’s WTA Finals have been moved from Shenzhen to Guadalajara, Mexico.
