China cancels Beijing Marathon for second time in a row

China on Friday cancelled the 2021 Beijing Marathon amidst rising number of COVID-19 cases in the country, ahead of the Winter Olympics in February.

The Beijing Marathon has been cancelled for a second consecutive year in order to protect athletes and citizens as well as control the risk of the possible spread of COVID-19, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

The announcement was made by the Organising Committee of the Beijing Marathon. China is scheduled to organise the Winter Olympics in February.

Beijing is recovering from the recent relapse of COVID-19 cases.

The Chinese mainland on Thursday reported four new locally-transmitted coronavirus cases, the National Health Commission said in its daily report.

Of the four local cases, three were reported in Shanghai and one in Liaoning, it said.

Thursday also saw reports of nine imported cases in four provincial-level regions, said the Commission.

The organising committee will reserve places for all the contestants who have obtained the qualification this year until 2022.

The reserved contestants must meet the registration requirements and relevant epidemic prevention regulations for the 2022 Beijing Marathon.