Two runners -- one a 20-year-old college student and the other a retiree -- died while competing in the Beijing International Marathon on Sunday.

Liu Hongbin, a sophomore at Beijing Jiaotong University, and a male retiree surnamed Hu collapsed on the course and were taken to nearby hospitals.

Liu collapsed 17 km into the race and was sent to Haidian Hospital, where he was pronounced dead after attempts to revive him failed.

Hu was confirmed dead Monday afternoon in north Beijing's Anzhen Hospital.

Organizers declined to comment.

Eleven other runners were sent to hospitals for emergency treatment and a woman from Tsinghua University was still in serious condition in Haidian Hospital after collapsing midway through the race.

Another 400 competitors suffered injured ligaments.

Organizers said that about 25,000 people took part in Sunday's race.

Amateur runners complained that no drinking water was available along the 42.2-km course after the 25-km mark.

Chinese athletes claimed all three top women's spots in the race.

Sun Yingjie, 25, who won the women's world half-marathon championship in New Delhi, India, earlier this month, retained the Beijing marathon title in a below-par time of two hours 24 minutes and 11 seconds. Zhou Chunxiu, winner of the Xiamen marathon early this year, took second place in 2:28:42 and Dai Yanyan came in third in 2:29:58.

Kenya's James Moiben won the men's title in 2:10:42, with Tanzania's Christopher Isegwe Njunguda taking second in 2:10:56 and North Korea's Ri Kyong Chol pulling in third in 2:15:24.

(Xinhua News Agency October 18, 2004)