The photo shows Chinese athlete Zhang Jingxia from Gansu winning the women's full marathon championship.
On the 22nd, the 2014 Samsung Electronics Chongqing International Marathon started at Nanbin Road in Chongqing. As the second leg of the National Marathon Championships, the event attracted over 30,000 marathon runners and enthusiasts from 48 countries and regions to register and participate. After nearly three hours of intense competition, Kenyan athlete Mike and Chinese athlete Zhang Jingxia from Gansu won the men's and women's full marathon championships, respectively.
After nearly three hours of intense competition, African athletes swept the men's full marathon podium, taking the gold, silver, and bronze medals. Among them, Kenyan athlete Mike won the men's title with a time of 2 hours, 10 minutes, and 43 seconds. Chinese athlete Zhang Jingxia from Gansu claimed the women's championship with a time of 2 hours, 29 minutes, and 45 seconds. The top three male and female finishers in the full marathon received a total prize purse of $110,000.
As the second leg of the five-stop National Marathon Championships, this year’s event was highly sought after by athletes and enthusiasts from the moment registration opened. All 5,000 online registration slots were claimed within half an hour, setting a national record for the shortest time to fill both full and half marathon registration quotas.
To ensure comprehensive support for participants, the organizing committee of the Chongqing International Marathon deployed over 8,000 personnel to provide services for the event this year. Volunteers were stationed every 100 meters along the route, with medical staff positioned every 500 meters, and an ambulance stationed every 2 kilometers. Six hospitals along the route also served as emergency medical facilities to assist runners.
As the first full marathon in China’s central and western regions, the Chongqing International Marathon has been rated as a Gold Label Road Race by the Chinese Athletics Association for two consecutive years. Its course showcases the most distinctive mountain-city landscapes and modern cultural elements along both banks of the Yangtze River, and is hailed as one of “China’s most beautiful marathon routes.” In 2014, with approval from the General Administration of Sport of China, it was officially elevated to the second leg of the National Marathon Championships.