In a bizarre and highly publicized twist at the Meishan Renshou Half Marathon in Sichuan, China, fitness influencer Liao Xingxing has found herself at the center of controversy, facing a lifetime ban from the race.
The influencer, who had built a modest following of 15,000 fans on Chinese TikTok (Douyin), was caught using a fake race bib during the Chinese Half-Marathon Championships last Sunday.
The scandal, which started with a suspicious video on social media, has since unraveled into a full-blown drama, complete with allegations of deceit, anti-fans, and one very unlucky bib.
The Bib That Launched a Thousand Comments
Liao’s downfall began when a video surfaced on Douyin showing her sporting the same bib number as another race participant. Both runners wore bib C4567, with Liao’s bright pink outfit making her easy to spot.
The video quickly went viral, raising eyebrows and sparking debates among the running community. Whether it was a clone job or an honest mistake, the optics weren’t good.
According to Liao, the whole situation was a setup.
She explained that she hadn’t won the lottery to get into the race and had accepted the bib from one of her followers, unaware that it was a duplicate. She claimed that an “anti-fan” might have orchestrated the entire situation to humiliate her.
However, the race organizers weren’t buying it. They not only disqualified her from this race but also handed her a lifetime ban.
The Harsh Reality of Race Bib Regulations
The Meishan Renshou Half Marathon isn’t your average Sunday jog.
It is China’s first World Athletics Platinum Label half-marathon and serves as the national half-marathon championship.
With over 150,000 applicants each year and a strict acceptance rate of less than 10%, the race is highly competitive. Runners dream of securing a spot, and those who do are expected to follow the rules to the letter—including ensuring their bibs are legitimate.
For Liao, ignorance of the rules (if her story is to be believed) was no defense.
The Chinese Athletics Association was promptly informed, and further sanctions may still be in the pipeline. The association has been cracking down on rule violations, particularly since the growing trend of bib swapping and cloning has plagued Chinese races in recent years.
At the 2025 Standard Chartered Marathon in Hong Kong, four Chinese runners were similarly disciplined for bib-swapping, even though they claimed it was an accident.
Bibgate: A Trend Amongst Runners?
While Liao’s incident may seem like a one-off, the reality is that bib-related scandals are becoming increasingly common.
The allure of participating in high-profile races, which often have strict entry limits, can tempt runners to bend the rules. Some sell or give away their bibs to friends, while others create replicas—intentionally or otherwise.
The stakes are high, not just for personal achievement but also for social media clout. In an era where a single post can go viral and lead to lucrative brand deals, influencers are under more pressure than ever to keep up appearances.
In 2019, the Boston Marathon saw a similar scandal when several runners were found to have used bib duplications to qualify for the race.
The event, known for its stringent qualifying times, has seen multiple cases of bib forgeries over the years. As a result, many major races now use technology such as QR codes, RFID chips, and enhanced registration processes to prevent such incidents.
Following the scandal, Liao disappeared from social media, deactivating her accounts and deleting all her videos.
Her Douyin account, which had amassed over 219,000 likes across 361 videos, is now a ghost town.
Many speculate that she is lying low until the storm passes, while others believe she may resurface under a different identity. Given the fast-paced nature of social media, it’s possible that Liao’s scandal will fade away as quickly as it arrived—but her lifetime ban will remain.
