Marathon runner gets lifetime ban - for riding bike on course

A competitor at a marathon in China has received a lifetime ban from taking part in the race in future after she was caught cycling part of the course.

Still pictures uploaded in a video to YouTube show the woman, sporting the number D2113 on her vest, riding what appears to be a dockless hire bike.

Officials at the Xuzhou International Marathon, which had 22,000 participants, reportedly told her repeatedly to dismount but she ignored them, reports the Independent.

It still took her 5 hours, 38 minutes and 36 seconds to complete the marathon, although she is said to have covered the final 2.195 kilometres in 7 minutes 10 seconds.

Had she maintained that pace for the preceding 40 kilometres, she would have been around 12 minutes off Paula Radcliffe’s women’s marathon world record of 2 hours 15 minutes 25 seconds, set in London in 2003.

She was disqualified from the race and banned from all future events hosted by the organisers, who said: “After an official found her and stopped her, the participant again rode [on the bike]. She violated the rules.”