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‘I was really careless’ – Marathon runner throws away certain victory with cardinal sin
A Chinese runner has gone viral after throwing away victory in an embarrassing loss. Xiao Fen had been competing in a half marathon in Chongqing, China when she committed a cardinal sin. XXiao threw away victory at the last moment after committing a cardinal sin[/caption] XThe amateur runner celebrated winning the half marathon too early[/caption] The 35-year-old appeared destined to win the race as she approached the finish line. Her confidence got the better of her, though, as she raised her arms in the air to celebrate. However, Xiao had not noticed how close her nearest rival was as she appeared to slow down. As a result, rival Gan Zhifang was able to zoom past and cross the line in first place. Both runners had finished with their arms outstretched before the result quickly went viral on social media in China. Xiao soon realised she had thrown away victory but has vowed to learn from the mistake. Speaking afterwards, via Bao VnExpress, she explained: “I was really careless near the finish line and then relaxed too soon. Alas, keep trying, I can run better next time.” Although she added it was ‘really frustrating’, a personal best time allowed the amateur runner to quickly put the error behind her. Xiao added: “I fought my best for 21.0975km, how could I do this to attract attention? Anyway, I think I did pretty well. I fought hard.” She is understood to have only started taking part in the sport in September 20, but has already competed in 19 races. XShe was overtaken narrowly before crossing the line to finish second[/caption] The mistake of celebrating early is not restricted to novice runners, though. British sprinter Jake Odey-Jordan suffered from a similar error last summer. The teenager had been competing at the European Athletics U18 Championships when he threw away victory in a 200m heat. Odey-Jordan was on the verge of claiming a comfortable victory before pulling up in the closing stages of the race. His move allowed three rivals to overtake him as he slipped to fourth and was eliminated from the event. Speaking immediately afterwards, he admitted: “It is all right. I mean, it is my fault, so I cannot be sad about anything but myself. “It is what it is. It felt good. It was not the fastest run, but it felt good. For sure, it could have been sub 21. But it is all good though. “I am just out here, it is my first race on this meet. I just tried to get on my legs, nothing hurts me or nothing like that.”
A Chinese runner has gone viral after throwing away victory in an embarrassing loss.
Xiao Fen had been competing in a half marathon in Chongqing, China when she committed a cardinal sin.
The 35-year-old appeared destined to win the race as she approached the finish line.
Her confidence got the better of her, though, as she raised her arms in the air to celebrate.
However, Xiao had not noticed how close her nearest rival was as she appeared to slow down.
As a result, rival Gan Zhifang was able to zoom past and cross the line in first place.
Both runners had finished with their arms outstretched before the result quickly went viral on social media in China.
Xiao soon realised she had thrown away victory but has vowed to learn from the mistake.
Speaking afterwards, via Bao VnExpress, she explained: “I was really careless near the finish line and then relaxed too soon. Alas, keep trying, I can run better next time.”
Although she added it was ‘really frustrating’, a personal best time allowed the amateur runner to quickly put the error behind her.
Xiao added: “I fought my best for 21.0975km, how could I do this to attract attention? Anyway, I think I did pretty well. I fought hard.”
She is understood to have only started taking part in the sport in September 20, but has already competed in 19 races.
The mistake of celebrating early is not restricted to novice runners, though.
British sprinter Jake Odey-Jordan suffered from a similar error last summer.
The teenager had been competing at the European Athletics U18 Championships when he threw away victory in a 200m heat.
Odey-Jordan was on the verge of claiming a comfortable victory before pulling up in the closing stages of the race.
His move allowed three rivals to overtake him as he slipped to fourth and was eliminated from the event.
Speaking immediately afterwards, he admitted: “It is all right. I mean, it is my fault, so I cannot be sad about anything but myself.
“It is what it is. It felt good. It was not the fastest run, but it felt good. For sure, it could have been sub 21. But it is all good though.
“I am just out here, it is my first race on this meet. I just tried to get on my legs, nothing hurts me or nothing like that.”
