Netizens criticize merit medal for Athletics association

A large number of netizens have taken to social media to express their dissatisfaction with the government’s decision to attribute this year’s “Medal of Merit – Sports” to the General Association of Athletics of Macau (AGAM).

The outcry follows reports that the association failed to verify and register the world half-marathon record from local athlete Hoi Long.

According to several media reports from specialized media outlets, the AGAM missed the deadline to verify and certify the record obtained by Hoi Long in the Macau International Marathon last year.

The local athlete ran the 21.1km in an official time of 1:24:34, which constitutes a new world record for athletes with hearing impairments. However, the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (Comité International des Sports des Sourds) could not register the record due to missing signatures from the race officials.

Netizens heavily criticized the government for granting the award to an association, given the “public proof of their incompetence and lack of professionalism.” Critics added that the oversight has damaged Hoi Long’s reputation and reflects poorly on Macau. 

President of the Sports Bureau (ID) Luís Gomes acknowledged the issue and said the bureau is exploring all avenues to have Hoi Long’s record officially recognized.

In an interview with the public broadcaster TDM, Hoi Long expressed her disappointment with the situation, saying she had already lost all hope of seeing her record acknowledged through official channels.

There are seven types of Medals of Merit, which recognize those who have had notable or excellent performance in the education sector; those who have made active contributions towards the development of the culture and arts sector; those who have made significant contributions to the philanthropy and social service sector; and those that have obtained outstanding rankings in international, regional or national sports events, or who have made notable contributions in the area of sports.

The government did not provide their reasoning for attributing the sports merit medal to AGAM this year.