In Summary
- Two Kenyan and one Ethiopian runners are accused of letting a Chinese athlete win
- The incident received significant attention on Chinese social media site
- He, the 2023 Asian Games marathon gold medallist, won by one second.
Two Kenyan and one Ethiopian runners are accused of letting a Chinese athlete win the Beijing Half Marathon deliberately
Video clips of Sunday’s race which surfaced online showed the Kenyans Robert Keter and Willy Mnangat, Dejene Hailu of Ethiopia and the Chinese athlete , He , approaching the finish.
The two Kenyan athletes and one Ethiopian can be seen pointing to the finish line and apparently waving He out in front, while appearing to slow down.
He, the 2023 Asian Games marathon gold medallist, won by one second.
A broadcaster noted that the The four had stuck together throughout the course of just over 13 miles (21 kilometres)
Beijing Half marathon organisers Say Investigations Underway
China’s He Jie won Asian Games gold last year/
WILLIAM WEST
Beijing half marathon organisers said Monday they were launching investigations on the same
“We are investigating and will announce the results to the public once they are available,” a person from the Beijing Sports Bureau, who wished to remain anonymous, told AFP.
The event’s organiser — the Beijing Sports Competition Management and International Exchange Center — also said an investigation had been launched.
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Incidence Causes Uproar
The incident is said to have received significant attention on Chinese social media site Weibo, with some users criticising what they saw as an “embarrassing” result.
Long-distance running has boomed in recent years among China’s middle class, but there have been numerous instances of cheating and poor organisation.
In 2018, at a half-marathon in the southern city of Shenzhen, 258 runners were found to have cheated, including many who took shortcuts.
Traffic cameras caught them darting through trees to join a different part of the race.
In 2019 a woman was filmed riding a green-coloured rental bike in the Xuzhou International Marathon in eastern China.
She was ordered by race officials to dismount the bike, only to get back on again afterwards.
