Marathon Cheaters in China Trying to Improve College Admission Chances

Here on 8asians, we have talked about education and the pressures to do well on college entrance exams.  We have also talked about how some Asian-Amercians parents force their kids into sports in order to have them round out their applications.   But this news from China seems to be something new.  According to this news report, at least 30 runners in a marathon in China were caught cheating in a scheme to increase their chances of getting into colleges.  Because of a rule that says that a good marathon time gives extra points on the gaokao college entrance exams, these runners “improved” their times by taking public transit (Rosie Ruiz style) or by having faster runners carry their timing chips.  The cheaters were spotted using photo and videos of the race.  The 50,000 runner race had only 200 judges, and race organizers plan to have more on hand for next year’s race.

h/t: Bob Cook