The "flag-handing volunteer" incident that attracted much attention in the 2018 Suzhou Taihu Marathon has now received an official response. The race’s organizer lost its graded qualification in marathon competitions as a punishment, as decided by the China Athletics Association on Sunday.

2018年苏州太湖马拉松赛上备受关注的“志愿者递国旗”事件，现已得到官方回应。周日，中国田径协会决定，取消该举办方参加中国田径协会马拉松赛事等级评定资格，以示惩罚。

The Chinese marathon runner He Yinli came in second after she was knocked out of her stride, interrupted by volunteers who insisted on handing the national flag to her before she reached the finish line in the Suzhou Taihu Marathon on Nov 18, which provoked a heated public controversy.

11月18日，在苏州太湖马拉松赛终点线前，中国马拉松运动员何引丽被坚持给她递国旗的志愿者打断节奏而痛失冠军，引起公众热议。

Also in Sunday’s decision, the organizing committees of Nanning International Marathon and the Shenzhen Nanshan Half-Marathon were additionally penalized at the 2018 Marathon Special Media Communication Meeting over their respective incidents of violations.

同一天，南宁国际马拉松比赛组委会和深圳南山半程马拉松赛组委会也因各自的违规行为在“2018年马拉松专题媒体沟通会”上受到了处罚。

In the 13th Nanning International Marathon, an Ethiopian runner who reached the finish line first was suddenly dragged to a stop by an organizing committee staff member immediately after he crossed the line.

在第13届南宁国际马拉松上，一名首先到达终点线的埃塞俄比亚选手突然被一名组委会工作人员紧急拽停。

In the Shenzhen Nanshan Half-Marathon, more than 200 runners cut through a wooded area in order to shave at least 1 kilometer off their race.

在深圳南山半程马拉松赛中，200多名选手为了少跑1公里多路，抄近道经过一片树林。

These organizing committees were also requested to submit a written rectification report to the Chinese Athletics Association within a prescribed time limit.

本次会议中还要求这些组委会在限期内向中国田协递交书面整改报告。

The decision was based on the management measures for Chinese marathons and related sports events in order to strictly discipline violators and maintain a fair competition.

该决定是根据《中国马拉松及相关运动赛事管理办法》做出的，目的是为了严惩违规者，维护公平竞争。