Beijing marathon to use facial recognition in cheating crackdown
Beijing marathon to use facial recognition in cheating
crackdown
By Neil Connor, Beijing 13 APRIL 2017 • 2:48PM
Organisers of a marathon in Beijing are taking a ‘great
leap’ in the fight against cheats – using facial recognition to stop impostors
in their tracks.
Marathon running is booming in China, where more than 300
races were staged last year as a fitness craze sweeps the country.
But the fear of failure in the age of social media has
seen some racers seek any means to ‘achieve’ a respectable finishing time –
including not even taking part in the race.
There has also been reports in China of people cheating
in races where prizes are given for the top 100 contestants.
The Chinese Athletics Association (CAA) warned last month
that it will serve lifetime bans for marathon cheats following a series of
scandals involving unregistered runners taking someone else’s bib.
The tough regulations were announced after two runners
died at the 2016 Xiamen International Half Marathon in eastern China's Fujian
province. One of the runners wore someone else's bib in order to take part.
The 20,000 people competing in Beijing’s half marathon on
Sunday will be required have their biometrics scanned before the race, China’s
General Administration of Sport of China said this week.
“Practices such as hiring ringers and switching numbers
bibs have been reported in marathons in Beijing, Shenzhen, Shanghai and
Xiamen,” the Global Times newspaper said in a report on the ruling on Thursday.
Two female competitors had their results cancelled after
last December’s Shenzhen marathon when it was discovered that two male ringers
had run in their place.
Some 2.8 million people took part in marathons in China
in 2016, almost twice the number from the previous year, according to official
statistics.
Xinhua state news agency said increasing numbers of
Chinese people seeking healthy lifestyles had resulted in many marathons being
inundated with people wanting to register, often leaving many disappointed.
“However, some suspect the surging popularity of
marathons is driven by a desire to score social media points rather than love
of the sport,” Xinhua added.
Additional reporting by Christine Wei
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