Ethiopia’s Gebru Wins Beijing Marathon Amid ‘Hazardous’ Smog

Source: AFP via Getty Images

Ethiopia's Girmay Birhanu Gebru wins the 34th Beijing International Marathon in a time... Read More

Girmay Birhanu Gebru of Ethiopia won the Beijing Marathon as about 30,000 runners from 55 countries completed after a warning of hazardous haze engulfing the city.

Gebru completed the race in 2 hours, 10 minutes and 42 seconds, the official Xinhua News Agency reported today. The organization committee of the race warned marathoners of heavy smog on its official Weibo feed last night. The Air Quality Index in the city central area is at “severely polluted levels” of around 225 to 245 today, with the gauge at more than 400 in some areas, according to Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau. The U.S. Embassy said on its website air quality is “hazardous” today.

“I was basically a vacuum cleaner,” William Liu, a 30-year-old banker, said after completing the full marathon in five hours. He said he could’ve run faster if the smog hadn’t given him a dry, itchy throat and stuffy nose partway through.

The heavy smog compounds Beijing’s task to improve air quality ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum next month when leaders gather for an annual summit. The city has ordered some cars to stay off the roads, construction to halt, and offices and public schools to shut down during the summit at which U.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet.

Source: AFP via Getty Images

A runner wears a mask as he takes part in the 34th Beijing International Marathon which... Read More

A runner from Kenya who led the race in the first 20 kilometers quit midway through, according to official China National Radio.

Competitor A1659

“The air quality is too poor,” according to a posting by Yuan Hong, an actor, on his verified Weibo feed today. “Competitor A1659 has decided to quit.”
Yuan also posted a picture of himself with a number tag and a screen shot showing “hazardous” level of pollution - PM-2.5 particle level reaching 373 micrograms per cubic meter. The World Health Organization recommends exposures of no greater than 25 micrograms per cubic meter in a 24-hour period.

To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Xiaoqing Pi in Beijing at xpi1@bloomberg.net; Penny Peng in Beijing at ppeng18@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Stanley James at sjames8@bloomberg.net Sungwoo Park, Ken McCallum

Source:  bloomberg.com