‘I was really careless’ – Marathon runner throws away certain victory with cardinal sin

A Chinese runner has gone viral after throwing away victory in an embarrassing loss.

Xiao Fen had been competing in a half marathon in Chongqing, China when she committed a cardinal sin.

Xiao threw away victory at the last moment after committing a cardinal sinCredit: X

The amateur runner celebrated winning the half marathon too earlyCredit: X

The 35-year-old appeared destined to win the race as she approached the finish line.

Her confidence got the better of her, though, as she raised her arms in the air to celebrate.

However, Xiao had not noticed how close her nearest rival was as she appeared to slow down.

As a result, rival Gan Zhifang was able to zoom past and cross the line in first place.

Both runners had finished with their arms outstretched before the result quickly went viral on social media in China.

Xiao soon realised she had thrown away victory but has vowed to learn from the mistake.

, she explained: "I was really careless near the finish line and then relaxed too soon. Alas, keep trying, I can run better next time."

Although she added it was 'really frustrating', a personal best time allowed the amateur runner to quickly put the error behind her.

Xiao added: "I fought my best for 21.0975km, how could I do this to attract attention? Anyway, I think I did pretty well. I fought hard."

She is understood to have only started taking part in the sport in September 20, but has already competed in 19 races.

She was overtaken narrowly before crossing the line to finish secondCredit: X

The mistake of celebrating early is not restricted to novice runners, though.

The teenager had been competing at the European Athletics U18 Championships when he threw away victory in a 200m heat.