Chinese authorities have warned that organisers of cross-country ultra-marathon events have often put profits ahead of safety, after 21 runners died in extreme weather during a race in the north-west of the country.
A cold snap and storms of hail and rain trapped runners on a mountainside during a high-altitude 100km race at the weekend in the Jingtai Yellow River Stone Park, a tourist destination home to jagged stone features near Baiyin city in Gansu province.
Two of China’s top elite runners were among the dead: Liang Jing, a world-class athlete who held the highest number of International Trail Running Association points; and Huang Guanjun, winner of the marathon at China’s 2019 national Paralympic Games.