A Chinese grandfather ran a marathon in under three and a half hours despite chain-smoking for the entire duration of the race.
The 50-year-old runner, who is known as “Uncle Chen”, completed the full 26-mile Xin’Anjiang Marathon in Jiande, in China’s southwestern Zhejiang province, last week in a time of 3 hours, 28 minutes and 45 seconds.
A photograph of his certificate that was shared widely on social media in China showed he finished 574th out of around 1,500 runners.
Pictures showed Uncle Chen at full tilt with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, slowing only to light a fresh one.
It was not the first time Uncle Chen had been seen smoking during a long-distance race. He was first spotted smoking while running in the 2017 Hangzhou Marathon, where he was given the nickname “Smoking Bro” by other competitors.
According to Chinese media, he even smoked during the 2021 Lhasa Marathon, which begins at an altitude of more than 17,000 feet above sea level - high enough to cause altitude sickness.
He had previously posted times of around 3 hours and 30 minutes, but his most recent performance is believed to be his personal best.
Online criticism
Pictures of the smoking runner sparked heated debate on China’s social media platforms, with some users praising the man’s legendary lungs and others criticising him as a bad example to the public about smoking.
“He is such a steam engine,” wrote one Weibo user.
“Imagine how much second-hand smoke those behind him would endure, smoking should be banned during marathons,” wrote another.
Currently, there are no rules prohibiting runners from smoking.
According to the World Health Organisation, China is the largest producer and consumer of tobacco in the world. There are more than 300 million smokers in China, nearly one-third of the world’s total. More than half of adult men are current tobacco smokers.