Latest news with #HongKongAssociationofAthleticsAffiliates
South China Morning Post
10-02-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong Marathon urged to step up ID checks after bib mix-up controversy
Published: 1:29pm, 10 Feb 2025 The organiser of Hong Kong's annual marathon should step up identity checks, a lawmaker and an expert have said after four participants were found to be wearing the wrong bibs, while the Post has found paid running services available online. Commentators voiced their concern on Monday, a day after four mainland Chinese runners in the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon were disqualified for wearing bibs that did not match their identities. Two of them had finished first and second in the half-marathon race. 'The Hong Kong Association of Athletics Affiliates in the future should verify the identity of winning runners, who receive prize money, before they get on stage,' said lawmaker Benson Luk Hon-man, referring to the event organiser. He told a radio show that the identity checks could 'help improve the credibility of the association's Hong Kong Marathon and the public's trust in the event'. Luk, who also took part in the race, said identity checks were conducted when runners picked up their packs a few days before the event.
South China Morning Post
07-02-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
Plan for finish line at Kai Tak for Hong Kong Marathon at early stages only
Changing the route of the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon so that it runs into Kai Tak was only at the very early stages of planning, the organisers said, with 'only initial communications' held with the relevant parties. Dennis Ng Yu-ho, executive director of the Hong Kong Association of Athletics Affiliates, said the soon-to-be-opened Kai Tak Sports Park could be chosen in future as a finish line to replace Victoria Park in Causeway Bay – which has been the finishing point since 2008 – only once issues about the route's accessibility were tackled. 'There are many considerations when discussing replanning the route or making major changes,' he said. 'There is the throughput of the route, the impact on traffic or even the atmosphere. 'Is [the route] suitable for allowing nearby residents to cheer along the way? All these are part of the considerations and we're only at an initial stage.' Putting the marathon's finish line at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Sports Park – the way marathons at Olympic Games often finish at the major stadiums – could also be considered in the future, Ng said, as it was ideal to have a 'very pretty' start and finish line in the city. Runners and their families visit the Marathon Expo to play games and take photos at Kai Tak Arena. Photo: Eugene Lee 'Apart from those two largest points, the connecting locations and some other details along the route are something we need to iron out,' said Ng.
