Controversy at Barcelona Marathon Sparked Heated Debate Online

A debate erupted on social media after a short video from the Zurich Marató de Barcelona 2026 was published. The footage shows an ambulance with sirens on trying to drive along the race route, but some participants keep running and do not immediately give way to the medics, ignoring their requests to stop. One of the marathoners bypasses the ambulance staff blocking his path and continues running. 

The incident occurred on a section of the course near the Arc de Triomf, relatively close to the finish. The video sparked heated debates on social media. Some users criticised the athletes’ behaviour for showing a lack of empathy and respect for the medics’ work. Others noted that after 40 kilometres, participants are in a state of extreme physical and emotional exhaustion and often focus solely on reaching the finish line, not always aware of what is happening around them. “Cyclists and runners together can’t even carry one normal person,” wrote one TikTok user, whose comment received over 10,000 likes. “As a runner, I’m ashamed to watch this,” wrote another user, earning nearly 7,000 likes. This year’s Zurich Marató de Barcelona saw a record number of participants — about 32,000 runners — reflecting the rapid growth of amateur running in Spain. The race winner was Abel Chelangat with a time of 2:04:57, and in the women’s category, Fotyen Tesfay finished first with a time of 2:10:53. Some media outlets noted that the viral video shows only a small group of runners out of approximately 32,000 registered participants.