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A running track is confusing athletes after it was made with right angled corners.

The track was completed as part of a refurbishment of a 1,000 sq ft stadium in Heilongjiang province’s Tonghe County, in north east China.

Workers said they had to hurry the design so it was ready in time for a visit by state officials in China.

One local said: "Does the designer have a square brain?"

The stadium has been impressively built and features an artificial grass football pitch at its centre.

The original track featured normal curved corners but the rubber surface had quickly become worn.

And when senior Communist Party leaders announced plans for a last-minute visit to the stadium, a quick makeover was needed.

A stadium official said painting right angles was faster than painting curves.

“In order to get it ready for the leaders, we painted it like that. We think it is ugly too but if the leaders don’t ask us to change it, what are we supposed to do?”

“Right angle corners will slow a runner down and stop them achieving good results,” said Li Yuxue, the head of Heilongjiang’s Track and Field Sports Administration.

And Zhang Yong, a long distance runner, said: “It’s impossible to run on such a surface."