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image captionZhu Keming in the cave dwelling where he sheltered the stricken athletes
A Chinese shepherd has been hailed as a hero for saving six runners in an ultramarathon race in which 21 died.
Zhu Keming said he was grazing his sheep on Saturday in the northern province of Gansu when rain began to fall and temperatures plummeted.
Nearby, the sudden weather change had caught out runners in a 100km (60-mile) cross-country race.
Mr Zhu took refuge in a cave where he stored emergency food and clothes, but while inside he saw a stricken runner.
The shepherd told Chinese state media that he escorted the runner into the cave, massaged his hands and feet, and lit a fire to dry his clothes.
The Chinese communist regime announced on May 23 that 21 athletes, including China’s marathon champions, died at the Gansu ultramarathon due to the extreme weather.
The death list includes Liang Jing, 31, China’s ultramarathon record holder, Huang Guanjun, 34, winner of the men’s marathon for hearing-impaired runners at China’s 2019 National Paralympic Games, and famous ultramarathon runners Huang Yinbin and Cao Pengfei.
“All elite ultramarathon runners died,” a Chinese netizen wrote on Weibo on Sunday.
From videos and photos that surviving sportsmen shot onsite and shared on social media, the athletes dressed in shorts were stuck in no man’s land and couldn’t procure clothes to stay warm or food to keep going.
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