It might be seen as unpatriotic to toss aside your country’s flag. But what if it’s during the last-minute sprint of your marathon?

This scene occurred in the Eastern Chinese city of Suzhou on Sunday, when runner He Yinli was racing against her rival, Ethiopian long-distance runner Ayantu Abera Demissie, in the final 500 meters.

At a crucial moment in the race, two volunteers on the track tried to hand a national flag to He – the first not able to catch up with her, but the second making it. The Chinese athlete then held the flag for a few seconds before bunching it up and letting it fall on the ground.

It’s unclear from video footage whether He threw down the flag or if it just slipped out of her hand, but the incident interrupted her rhythm, causing her to become further and further behind her rival. Demissie beat her to the finish line by five seconds.

Nationalists have criticized He online for disrespecting the flag, and sports fans have blamed marathon organizers for allowing volunteers in front of sprinting runners. Meanwhile, CCTV said in an op-ed online that handing a flag to a runner before finishing the course was "unprofessional" and that the marathon organizer was operating "immaturely."

On her own Weibo, He said that the flag was drenched and that she didn't intend to throw it, but her arms were tired and stiff.