The BMO Vancouver Marathon was last held in 2019. The start of the 2022 race was delayed. Photo by Nick Procaylo / PNG Files
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Explosives experts had to be called in Sunday morning to make sure a suspicious device was not a threat, delaying the start of the Vancouver Marathon.
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The device was placed near Science World on the half marathon route. “This is extremely worrying and it seems that the device was strategically located … where runners would pass close by,” said VPD Sgt. Steve Addison. “Anyone who did this was probably intent on causing panic or disrupting the event.” A BMO Vancouver Marathon volunteer located the device around 5 a.m. and called 911. Police cordoned off the area and bomb technicians from the emergency response team destroyed the device. Police “determined that the device was not in danger of exploding and did not pose an immediate danger to the public,” Addison said. The public was notified shortly after 7 a.m. of the delay and police cleared the incident to begin about an hour later. But the fight was delayed for about half an hour while the police made the device inactive.
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Addison did not say how this decision was made or whether there was a search for other devices. “For security reasons, we can not discuss the specific security measures we take to prepare and run large-scale events,” Addison said. Investigators are just beginning to gather evidence and no arrests have been made. Addison said he could not provide any information about the device, including its size or how it was made. “This is information we hold at this point for research purposes,” he said in an email. He said on Monday that even if he did not intend to explode, the act of placing a device resembling a bomb in public view was “a serious criminal offense” and that police were continuing their investigation. More than 18,000 all-time runners-up have registered to take part in either the full-length marathon, which started at Queen Elizabeth Park and ended in downtown Coal Harbor, or the half marathon. The race, which celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2022, was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and served as a virtual event last year. The fastest woman was Dayna Pidhoresky completed the run in 2:34:30. The fastest man in the marathon was Chris Balestrini who finished the run in 2:23:56.
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#VanTraffic: The police incident near the @BMOVanMarathon route was safely resolved. Thank you for your patience and good fight to all. You are unbelievable!
– Vancouver Police (@VancouverPD) May 1, 2022
– With archive from the Canadian Press
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