Disqualification controversy at mixed-gender race organised by Singapore Athletics

SINGAPORE – There was no love lost between Singapore Athletics (SA) and some distance runners on Feb 14 after controversy erupted at its first All-Comers meet of the year held at the Yio Chu Kang Stadium.

Ten of 16 athletes who competed in the mixed-gender 10,000m race were initially disqualified, but eight of their results were later reinstated, causing a stir among the running fraternity here, with some hitting out at SA for holding a mixed-gender race. 

In response to queries from The Straits Times, SA confirmed that the 10 disqualified athletes had contravened World Athletics’ (WA) competition regulations. 

Eight were initially disqualified under regulation TR6.3.1, which addresses procedural infractions such as improper pacing arrangements and race formation.

The other two disqualified runners – Shohib Marican and Richard Heng – had contravened regulation TR5.2, which covers equipment-related infractions, including non-compliant shoe specifications.

SA added: “Following these decisions, athletes lodged protests which were initially rejected by the referee. An appeal was then submitted within 30 minutes, and a video review was conducted by the Jury of Appeal... (who) reversed the DQs under regulation TR6.3.1 while maintaining the DQs under TR5.2.

“While the window of appeal is over, we are reviewing the events on the day and will be speaking to some of the athletes involved.”

After being criticised for holding the controversial race, SA said in its defence that such mixed-gender races are permissible under WA rules, “when scheduling conflicts arise or if there are insufficient entries”.

“In this case, the mixed-race format has been a practical measure to help with the overall event scheduling, and has been deployed at previous events as well,” it added. “Due to ongoing renovations at Home of Athletics, the All-Comers 1 was held at Yio Chu Kang Stadium which is a co-shared venue with limited availability.”

Race-winner Keane Ko, who finished in 33min 35.89sec, told ST he realised during the race that some runners had been there for “pacing duties” and hence were not pushing themselves which resulted in a non-competitive race.

A pacer is a runner who sets the pace at a race, usually to help athletes achieve their desired timing. He or she must be in the same race and of the same gender as the athlete and don proper attire and shoes.

Ko, 24, added: “Running with strong competition brings out the best in one another because you push yourself to your limit. However, in this case I was not challenged much.”

He hopes that the organisers learn from this episode and avoid this format in future, adding: “Both organisers and competitors have the responsibility of understanding the rules and adhering to them. Better communication, pre-, during and post-race is critical.”

Similarly, distance runner Soh Rui Yong felt that SA could have avoided this incident by not holding a mixed event. He added: “If it is a dire circumstance where you have too few women or men competing, and you need to combine the race, sure. But this was not such a scenario.”

The 33-year-old also felt that “SA needs to familiarise itself with the rules” and suggested that it should hire a distance consultant. He alleged that none of the officials has experience with distance running, “which is why when they’re trying to officiate the distance events, it feels like they are a fish out of water”.

National distance runner Vanessa Lee, holder of the 10km (road), 3,000m steeplechase, 5,000m and mile national records, was one of the eight athletes who were initially disqualified for “improper pacing arrangements”.

When contacted, she said that the “rules on local mixed-gender races and pacing standards have not always been clearly defined” and added that she hopes for “greater clarity moving forward”.

Hoping to draw a line under the saga, she said: “My focus going into the race was to run my best and attempt a personal best. During the race, I found myself in a group as with the case of many others who were initially disqualified as well.

“I now hope to put this behind me and focus on my upcoming races as I continue my pursuit of a personal best.”

SA said following this saga, it will be “reviewing races where there are elite athletes in the female category to minimise future incidents of this sort”.

Adding that it values the “input and feedback from our athletics community”, SA said its “goal is to ensure fair and safe competitions and a supportive environment for our team and technical officials to perform their work. We trust that all stakeholders will respect the integrity of our process”.

It also added that it is committed to “using our past experiences to shape our future, ensuring that our event management and officiating standards continually evolve and improve”.

Meanwhile, on Feb 14, Chloe Chee set a national Under-18 record in the women’s long jump with a 5.90m attempt. It betters Tia Rozario’s previous mark of 5.86m set at the SEA Youth Athletics Championships in 2016.