介绍:
Marathon Fever Sweeps across China
From CRIENGLISH.com
The 2015 Shanghai International Marathon[2015年上海国际马拉松] was set to have 35,000 runners.
Over 100,000 people had applied[申请] and the organizer had to draw lots[抽签，抽签决定] to decide who would get to participate[参加].
An unnamed participant who was eligible to[有资格] run in the Marathon in Shanghai said that he felt sorry for those who failed to win the lottery[被抽中].
"Actually, most good runners were not lucky enough to be selected for the marathon this year. It's like a lottery. Eligible[合格的，合适的；符合条件的；有资格当选的] participants had to win a lottery."
Zhang Zhenpeng is the person in charge of[负责；主管] the Beijing Bird's Nest Half Marathon[北京鸟巢半程马拉松赛] which also kicked off[拉开帷幕] on Sunday.
He said he didn't expect that for all places to be filled up so soon.
"We opened 8,000 placements and predicted these might be filled in half a month. However, runners were so enthusiastic that all placements were filled at night since the application began at 09:00. Just in one day. During the day, there were two system crashes[系统崩溃] because of the huge visitor volume[访问量]."
Data released by the Chinese Athletic Association shows that Chinese marathon competitions have increased rapidly.
While only 22 marathon competitions were held in 2011, the number increased to over 120 this year.
The association predicted the number will rise above 200 next year.
The popularity of marathons across China also brings about[引起;导致;带来] economic benefits[经济效益].
Zhang Yongliang is the director of the Marathon Office of the Athletics Administrative Center of China's General Administration of Sport.
He said the marathon fever[马拉松热] has also helped to boost revenue[增加收入] for local governments[当地政府].
"For example, marathon competitions in Xiamen City have brought 230 million yuan in revenue[税收，国家的收入；收益] each year. However, it is far behind the Tokyo marathon which earns about two billion yuan each year. But many cities have realized that marathon competitions can promote tourism[促进旅游业]. For example, the city of Hengshui held the first marathon on September 23, 2012, boosting the city's tourist revenue by 300 percent."
Business insiders[业内人士] believe the marathon frenzy[狂热] in China has hugely boosted the sports industry in which sponsors like Nike are among the biggest winners.
And related industries like the catering business[餐饮业], accommodation[住宿], sports drinks[运动型饮料] and healthcare products[保健产品] also benefit from the increasingly popular sport.
For CRI, I'm Guo Yan.
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