China’s Ultramarathon Tragedy Was a Fad Gone Bad

Shepherd Zhu Keming shows the cave dwelling where he sheltered stricken athletes during a deadly ultramarathon gone wrong near the city of Baiyin, in China's northwestern Gansu province, on May 24. STR/CNS/AFP via Getty Images

Over a month after the trail ultramarathon in Baiyin, a city in China’s Gansu province, when 21 runners were killed by extreme weather, the Chinese internet is still awash with anger and questions.

“Can ‘rare extreme weather’ really be responsible for a 12 percent death rate in a sporting event?” China News Weekly asked in a front-page feature. On Weibo, one user wrote: “21 Elite athletes lost their lives on a familiar race route, this kind of an accident, there is almost no questioning the fault of the athlete. … Many others online hold the same suspicions.”