Ultramarathoner sues race organizers after she was hit by motorcycle

A group of race organizers for a 12-hour ultramarathon in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, are being sued for negligence after one runner was hit by a motorcycle during the Dec. 17 race, fracturing her ankle. 

The ultrarunner, Chua Kah Yi, has now launched a lawsuit against the race organizers for not incorporating proper safety methods, such as volunteers and traffic cones that prevent participants from running into traffic along the looped 5K route. Kah Yi did not finish the ultra, and ended up in the hospital.

Kah Yi expressed outrage at the lack of responsibility from the race organizers. When she discovered they were operating without a mandatory license from the national sport governing body, she moved forward with legal action.

According to Malaysian news, every running event held in the country has to have a license—any group that violates this policy can be charged up to 500,000 Malaysian ringgit (around CAD $150,000) or face imprisonment for up to five years.

Kah Yi told the Malaysian publication The Vibes that the race director paid her a visit at the hospital but only to apologize, refusing to take any responsibility for the incident. “The organizers did not offer any support besides free entry into their upcoming events,” said Kah Yi. “I am injured.”

The race released a statement surrounding the incident on Facebook, blaming the motorcycle driver:

“There was an incident that happened during our event past weekend, as some of you might know. We feel it is necessary for us to state out publicly the events of happenings. Our team will acknowledge this mistake and will further re-evaluate the risk of the race course and further enhance the race safety rules and our back-end operations, as runners’ safety is always a priority.”

“At the start of the seventh loop start point, a motorcycle approached and the runner leaned toward curb, giving the motorcycle even more space to pass. Unfortunately, the motorist lost control and directly impacted the runner. We later found out that the motorcyclist is a university student who did not possess a valid driving license, with a borrowed motorcycle.”