Marathon organisers apologize for not seeing winner

Beijing: The first-place finisher in a Chinese marathon will receive his overdue prize after organisers admitted they failed to see the runner cross the finish line.

Gong Chao, an amateur marathon runner, finished first with a personal best of two hours and 52 minutes in Yantai International Marathon in Yantai city but was told his result had been cancelled for "cheating".

The organisers explained that Gong did not appear anywhere in the official video that only recorded the first three runners during the race.

Gong took to the Internet to contest his innocence, and the organisers were forced to review his result on Friday when they decided Gong did not cheat.

"He will be given the full-marathon champion's prize. We apologize for our neglect," said the organisers in a statement.