4 disqualified runners did not intentionally swap bibs, say Hong Kong marathon organisers
Hong Kong Free Press
Four mainland Chinese runners who were disqualified from the 2025 Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon did not deliberately swap their bibs, the event’s organisers have said.
In a Monday night statement, organisers – the Hong Kong, China Association of Athletics Affiliates (HKAAA) – said the four athletes shared the same manager.
“The incident was caused by the relevant manager’s incorrect distribution of bibs to the runners which led to the four individual runners wearing bibs that did not belong to them,” HKAAA said.
In a post-race press conference on Sunday, the organisers announced that three runners in top places had been disqualified for wearing the wrong bibs. A Monday night statement, however, mentioned that four runners had been disqualified – which included an athlete who did not win any of the top three spots.
4 mainland Chinese runners
Two of the athletes involved were mainland Chinese runners Sun Xiaoyang and He Yingbing, who won first and second place respectively in the half-marathon, the organisers said on Sunday.
He and Sun were stripped of their places, effectively handing the winning title to Hong Kong runner Vincent Lam.
Local media reported that a mainland Chinese runner who finished second in the 10-kilometre race wore a bib with the name “Lan Jiehuai,” but he was later identified as Xu Guoge, also from mainland China. Lan reportedly placed sixth in the same race.
Hong Kong athlete Wong Tsz-to was declared the new runner-up in the 10-kilometre category.
All participants should thoroughly check the full names printed on their bibs to ensure all information is correct when they collect their runner’s packs, HKAAA said on Monday night.
This year’s marathon event saw more than 74,000 registered runners, including nearly 15,000 international participants from over 100 countries or regions.
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