Saturday, April 20, 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 kilometers 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 unshrinkable 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 organizing committee.'
Beijing half-marathon top three are stripped of their medals after three African race leaders slowed down before the finish line to let Chinese runner win (VIDEO) pic.twitter.com/fcfTYWHq46
— DAILY POST 🇳🇬 (@dailypost_ng) April 20, 2024
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