Friday, April 19, 2024 – The top three in the Beijing half-marathon have had their medals stripped after three African race leaders appeared to slow down before the finish line to let a Chinese runner win.
According to Reuters, winner He Jie and three African
runners had their results cancelled after an investigation found that
the trio allowed the Chinese athlete to finish first.
He had won the race in China's capital with a time
of 1:03.44, ahead of Ethiopian Dejene Hailu Bikila and Kenyans Robert Keter and
Willy Mnangat who all finished joint second.
The organising committee said in a statement that
the three African runners 'actively slowed down in the last
two kilometres and as a result, He Jie won the men's
championship.'
They added that the 'trophies, medals and bonuses will be
recovered.'
Mnangat, reportedly told the BBC that the trio ran
as pacemakers along with another runner who did not finish the race.
The Kenyan allegedly claimed that they had been contracted
to help He break the Chinese half-marathon record of 1:02:33, something he was
not able to accomplish.
He said: 'I was not there to compete. It was not a
competitive race for me.'
'I don't know why they put my name on my bib/chest number
instead of labelling it as a pacemaker,' Mnangat added.
'My job was to set the pace and help the guy win but
unfortunately, he did not achieve the target, which was to break the national
record.'
The Zhongao Lupao Beijing Sports Management company said its
partner Xiamen Xtep Investment failed to note the relevant pacer
information, which led to the organising committee not being
informed.
'Our company has unshirkable responsibility and would like
to experience our sincere apologies to all runners,' Xtep said in a
statement as per Reuters.
'We bear a great responsibility and fully accept the
punishment decision made by the organising committee.'
Organizers of Beijing half marathon investigating claims that 2 Kenyan athletes and 1 Ethiopian athlete allowed China’s star runner, HE JIE, to win the race pic.twitter.com/zJORpYVZxo
— DAILY POST 🇰🇪 (@TheKenyanPost) April 16, 2024
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