Opinion | The Hong Kong Marathon was a lesson in how not to host a large-scale sporting event during the pandemic
- First edition of race since 2019 finally went ahead, but was marred by injuries and controversy surrounding slogans on clothing
- Runners found themselves caught in bottle neck, while finishers were shooed away from large open football pitches into cramped areas
At the finish area of the 2021 Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon, I watched two runners find each other after the race. The two, clearly friends, embraced warmly and looked like they were about to cry tears of joy. It was a touching moment as they hugged, congratulating each other on finishing the gruelling 42-kilometre trek through Hong Kong which started on Nathan Road in Tsim Sha Tsui and finished in Victoria Park.
Then a race volunteer rushed up to them, wearing a face shield, a mask, surgical gloves and carrying a megaphone, and barked at them to leave the area immediately, telling them they were not allowed to stay there and enjoy the special moment they were having. Talk about killing the mood.
The return of one of Hong Kong’s flagship sporting events – the city’s first large-scale outing in 18 months – was marred by controversy after it finally returned from a two-year hiatus. The 2020 edition was axed due to the pandemic and the 2021 race was pushed back from February to October.
One plus was the weather – by the time the sun came out and cranked up the heat, the elite racers had finished. By that time it was only the amateur runners left on the field, and you can guess what happened next.
There were also reports of amateur runners encountering a serious bottleneck at the Western Harbour Crossing, which is part of the full-, the half-marathon (21km) and the 10k races. One runner said she got claustrophobic in the crowded tunnel and had to stop running as participants found themselves shoulder to shoulder with each other. She said the organisers had open start times for a lot of amateur categories, which meant runners were bunched together at points during the race when the route became congested.