21 Runners Dead After Extreme Weather Hits Chinese Ultramarathon
The 62-mile mountain race in Gansu Province left athletes in shorts and T-shirts facing freezing rain, hail and high winds.
Rescuers helped runners in Yellow River Stone Forest Park in the Chinese province of Gansu on Saturday. Rescue efforts continued into Sunday, complicated by a landslide.Credit.Agence France-Presse Getty Images
May 23, 2021, 6:49 a.m. ET
Twenty-one people, including two of China’s top marathon athletes, died after freezing rain and high winds struck a 62-mile mountain race in northwestern China, local officials said on Sunday.
Liang Jing, 31, an ultramarathon champion, and Huang Guanjun, the winner of the men’s marathon for hearing-impaired runners at China’s 2019 National Paralympic Games, were among those found dead, according to state news media.
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Twenty-one people were killed after hail, freezing rain and high winds hit runners taking part in a 100-kilometre (62-mile) cross-country mountain race in China, state media said Sunday.
The extreme weather struck a high-altitude section of the race held in the scenic Yellow River Stone Forest near Baiyin city in northwestern Gansu province Saturday afternoon.
Among the dead were elite Chinese long-distance runners, local media reported.
Official news agency Xinhua confirmed the death toll had risen to 21, citing the local rescue command headquarters. State broadcaster CCTV also reported the final missing competitor had been found dead.
Baiyin city mayor Zhang Xuchen said that at around midday Saturday a section of the rugged ultramarathon course between kilometres 20 and 31 was “suddenly affected by disastrous weather”.
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