The top four finishers of the Beijing Half Marathon have their medals taken away after an investigation found three African runners deliberately slowed down near the finish line to let a Chinese competitor win, according to organizers.
He Jie of China won the race on Sunday in 1:03:44 to win the gold medal and the $5,500 first prize. The African trio finished joint-second just one second behind in second place.
Kenya’s Willy Mnangat is seen turning toward He and signaling for him to move ahead in a video of the finish, as the four men race against one another. Robert Keter, a Kenyan who previously held the 5km world record, then appears to wave for He to move ahead of the pack while signaling for Ethiopia’s Dejene Hailu to stay back.
Many Chinese people demanded an investigation and action from the organizers after the video went viral online.
The organizing committee said in a statement on April 19 that the three African runners “actively slowed down in the last 2 kilometers, and as a result He Jie won the men’s championship.”
It stated that the results of all four runners have been revoked, and their trophies, medals, and bonuses will be forfeited.
According to the committee, the Chinese sports company Xtep, which sponsors both He and the Beijing Half Marathon, invited the three African runners to participate in the race as pacemakers.
The committee stated that Xtep failed to mention the trio as pacemakers to the race operator, Zhong’ao Lupao Beijing Sports Management company.
The committee banned Xtep from sponsoring any additional races this season and disqualified the operator from hosting the Beijing Half Marathon.
Xtep “sincerely apologized” to all runners and customers in the statement.
It stated,
“We bear a great responsibility for this, fully accept the punishment decision made by the organizing committee,” and it promised to “reflect seriously and conduct a deep review” in order to “ensure such incidents do not occur again in the future.”
One of China’s most promising long-distance runners, the 25-year-old has broken China’s marathon record twice in two years. He is expected to lead Asian runners in the upcoming Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, where he is ranked 74th in the world in the men’s marathon.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
