21 people who participated in a 100-kilometer ultra-race in the mountains northwest of China, died after being hit by extreme weather two days ago.
There were a total of 172 participants in the course, when the weather suddenly turned around and the athletes were hit by rain, hail and strong winds after barely 20-30 kilometers.
Among the dead were a Chinese ultra-running star named Liang Jing and Paralympic athlete Huang Guanjun, who lost his hearing at the age of one and could not speak.
31-year-old Jing had won several long-distance races before, including Ultra Gobi in 2018 – a race of 400 kilometers through the Gobi Desert. Photos taken by Jing early in the race show that he ran in shorts and a thin jacket.
According to the weather forecast, there was to be some wind and rain in the area, but what met the athletes was something completely different. The race started at 09.00 on Saturday morning local time, and after about three hours, parts of the group were hit by hail and large amounts of rain. This led to cooling and poor visibility.
Suddenly, messages started coming from the runners in a chat group on WeChat. A message read:
“We are in a valley. A female athlete cannot move due to severe cooling. Ask for help ».
Those who stayed on a steep part of the mountain had no place to seek refuge. Even though some had a survival blanket with them, the wind was so strong that the blankets were torn to pieces.
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Unexpected help
Six of the practitioners were rescued by a local shepherd, writes The Beijing News, reproduced by South China Morning Post.
Zhu Keming, 49, had sought refuge in a cave – where he normally stores clothes and food – when he was awakened by voices calling for help. It was a participant who had injured his leg.
Keming gave the man a bedspread, and not long after, several participants came running by – practitioners who also had to seek shelter in the cave.
– They were shaking because of the cold. Then they sat together by the fire to warm up, but they still trembled for a while, says Keming.
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Unconscious
The last person to get help from Keming was found when the shepherd tried to get a signal to call for help. A man lying on the ground was chilled and could not walk on his own.
– At first I thought of carrying him on my back, but he was too heavy for me. In the end, I and the runners lifted him up and carried him to the hula, says Keming.
It was Zhang Xiaotao, who has written a post on the Chinese microblogging site Weibo, where he says that he was unconscious for two and a half hours before he was rescued by Keming. He was at the forefront of the field when the storm occurred, and is the only one of the six athletes who was at the forefront who survived.
Among other things, Xiaotao ran past the late Guanjun up a mountainside and saw that he was struggling. He hoped the weather would get better, but was completely stiff when he got to the other side of the mountain. Eventually, he was unable to get up, and wrapped himself in a blanket before sending out an emergency message using a GPS tracker.
Then he lost consciousness.
– I have to thank him for saving me. Without him, I could have stayed there forever. His kindness made me reborn and I will never forget it, writes Xiaotao.
The six participants were picked up by rescue crews after barely five hours in the cave.
– I did nothing special. Everyone would do the same under the same circumstances, says shepherd Keming.
The question local authorities are now asking themselves is why the organizer ignored the warnings about the extreme weather, writes NTB. Leaders in sports in China will now strengthen safety in future races. Those responsible must have contingency plans ready and be able to cancel competitions at short notice.
Sources: BBC, Vice and South China Morning Post.
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