Chinese marathon runner loses race after being handed national flag

To patriotically embrace the national flag, or win a marathon?
That was the dilemma facing a Chinese runner during the final phase of the Suzhou Marathon in eastern China on Sunday. While running her final leg, athlete He Yinli was handed a Chinese national flag from a "volunteer" who rushed to her from the sideline.
He -- who was trying to overtake the front runner -- held on to the flag for a few seconds before dropping it to the ground. She ended up losing to an Ethiopian competitor and placed second in the race.
The live stream of the marathon showed another "volunteer" had made a similar attempt moments earlier but the 30-year-old runner didn't take that flag.
The episode, caught live on television, has stirred a heated debate across the country.
A commentator on state broadcaster CCTV, which aired the race, voiced his disapproval.
"Right now racing for the championship is the most important thing," he said. "At this moment, she is gritting her teeth and this off-track factor has affected her performance."
When the Chinese athlete's Ethiopian rival steadily moved further away from her and crossed the finish line, the commentator lamented: "It's such a pity at the end."

While most Chinese internet users have condemned the interference in He's race and bemoaned her missed opportunity for the championship, others have questioned her patriotism for dropping the flag.
"The video shows that He Yinli crumpled the flag and tossed it away -- is the race result more important than the national flag?" wrote Wei Jing, another Chinese marathon runner, on Weibo,the Chinese equivalence of Twitter.
The athlete responded by posting on her Weibo page that she didn't throw the flag away on purpose and asked for understanding from the public.
"The national flag was drenched and my arm was stiff -- the flag just slipped away as I swung my arms," He said.
The accusation of "tossing away" the national flag is a serious charge in China. Any act deemed disrespectful of the national flag in public can result in up to three years in prison, according to China's criminal code.