Hangzhou, China, November 22, 2020: The excitement of the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China was in evidence on Sunday when the 2020 Hangzhou International Marathon took place on a chilly morning in Zhejiang province.
The field was restricted to 10,000 runners due to the risks related to Covid-19, with 7,000 entering the full marathon and 3,000 taking part in the half-marathon.
The finishing point was the 80,000-capacity Big Lotus – main stadium for the 19th Asian Games in September 2022 and the eye-catching hub of the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre.
The 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022 organising committee followed the event live on Facebook and Instagram in order to track the runners with regular updates.
The course passed the West Lake and the Qiangtang River, the most beautiful scenic spots in the capital city of Zhejiang province in eastern China, reports Xinhua News.
Su Guoxiong won the men's title in two hours 13 minutes and 24 seconds. The women's crown was won by Wang Min, who finished in 2:38:19.
According to local organisers, the participants were mainly domestic runners and needed to provide negative nucleic acid test results.
"Mass sports activities such as marathons invigorate the city amid regular epidemic prevention and control,” said Zhang Yadong, deputy director of the Zhejiang Sports Bureau.
“The successful hosting of the Hangzhou International Marathon should be attributed to the strict Covid-19 countermeasures and the cooperation of the 10,000 participants."
First launched in 1987, the Hangzhou race is one of the most time-honoured marathons in China, second only to the Beijing International Marathon, which debuted in 1981.
