Three African runners would have helped a Chinese athlete win the Beijing half marathon – Firstpost
Two runners from Kenya and one from Ethiopia reportedly helped China’s He Jie win the Beijing half marathon.
In a video widely shared on social networks, three African runners appear to deliberately allow Chinese He Jie to win the Beijing half-marathon. The organizers announced on Monday that they had opened an investigation.
The video clip from Sunday’s race shows Kenyan runners Robert Keter and Willy Mnangat, Ethiopia’s Dejene Hailu and China’s He approaching the finish.
With the goal in sight, the three African runners can be seen pointing towards the finish line and appearing to wave to He in front, while appearing to slow down.
He, a gold medalist in the 2023 Asian Games marathon, won by one second.
The four had stayed largely together throughout the race of just over 13 miles (21 kilometers).
January 4, 2014, the day of January 14, 2014以一秒优势夺冠。
这一戏剧性画面引发大众质疑。… pic.twitter.com/dRWxbBcIhB– 李老师不是你老师 (@whyyoutouzhele) April 14, 2024
“We are investigating and will announce the results to the public as soon as they are available,” a person from the Beijing Sports Bureau, who wished to remain anonymous, told AFP.
The event’s organizer, the Beijing Sports Competition Management and International Exchange Center, also said an investigation had been launched.
The incident received considerable attention on Weibo, with some users criticizing what they saw as an “embarrassing” outcome.
“This will definitely be the most embarrassing championship of He Jie’s career,” one wrote.
“With such a major organizer and such a well-known event, this really drives the spirit of sportsmanship to the ground, to shame,” the post added.
Long-distance running has boomed in recent years in China, but cases of cheating and poor organization have been numerous.
In 2018, during a half marathon in Shenzhen, 258 runners cheated, many of whom took shortcuts. Traffic cameras caught them using trees as shields to join another part of the race.
In 2019, a woman was filmed riding a green rental bike during the Xuzhou International Marathon in eastern China. Race officials ordered him to get off the bike and then get back on.
