Hong Kong - Chinese army soldiers were accused Sunday of gamesmanship and muscling their way to victory in a Hong Kong charity 100-kilometre race. Two People's Liberation Army teams Friday took part in the Oxfam Trailwalker charity race for first time since setting up garrisons in Hong Kong in 1997, when British colonial rule ended.
Their four-man teams finished first and second in the race around Hong Kong's rural New Territories but were accused of using a vast support crew and deliberately holding up rival teams.
Fellow competitors told the Sunday Morning Post newspaper the army teams had a support crew of "at least 50 people" and used large numbers of support runners to hold up other teams.
Usually, only two or three support runners are used per team to help carry food and drink in the toughest parts of the MacLehose Trail where the race takes place. Runners must compete in teams of four.
"Their support runners would keep trying to pass us and then slow down to delay us, while their team ran clear," Jeremy Ritcey of a rival team that finished fourth told the newspaper.
"They jostled us and put us off our stride," he said. "It looked like the whole PLA (People's Liberation Army) garrison was out there."
Oxfam event organiser Brenda Wong said she believed the Trailwalker event was not "all about winning" as it was a charity event.
There was no immediate response from the army. Its winning team finished in 12 hours, 17 minutes - or 25 minutes slower than the record set last year by a team of Gurkha soldiers.
The Chinese army has kept a generally low profile, staying largely confined to barracks since arriving in Hong Kong in 1997 although it does hold annual open days for the public at its bases.
