HONG KONG, (Reuters) – The winner of Beijing’s half marathon He Jie and three African runners have had their results cancelled after an investigation found that the three slowed down near the line allowing the Chinese athlete to finish first, organisers said yesterday.
He had won the race held last Sunday in China’s capital in a time of 1:03:44, a second ahead of Ethiopian Dejene Hailu Bikila, and Kenyans Robert Keter and Willy Mnangat, who tied for second place.
The organising committee said in a statement that the three African runners “actively slowed down in the last 2 kilometres and as a result He Jie won the men’s championship.”
All trophies, medals and bonuses will be withdrawn and the athletes will be reported to the Chinese Athletics Association, it said.
Race operator, the Zhongao Lupao Beijing Sports Management company, will also be disqualified from hosting and operating the Beijing half marathon, the committee added.
Mnangat told the BBC that the trio ran as pacemakers and were not competing.
However, the committee said pacers would not have been allowed to participate as specially invited athletes without organisers’ approval.
The Zhongao Lupao Beijing Sports Management company said its partner Xiamen Xtep Investment, a unit of Hong Kong listed Xtep 1368.HK, 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.” He has been sponsored by Xtep since 2021 according to its website.
