After a grueling hour, there was little left between the four runners as the finish line approached. But then one person reaches out to another and gestures as if waving forward. Seconds later, another athlete did the same.
China's He Jie then strode ahead of the others, a recorded livestream of the Beijing Half Marathon on Sunday. Three other runners – Willy Mnangat and Robert Keter from Kenya, and Dejene Hailu from Ethiopia – placed just behind him, trailing him by a short distance as he took first place.
The results of the half-marathon are currently being investigated by race organizers, after footage of the finish line went viral online and made many people question whether the three African athletes deliberately slowed down. Are not.
He ranked first with a time of 1 hour, 3 minutes and 44 seconds. Mnangat, Keter and Hailu tied for second, a second behind.
The four runners ran in groups for most of the race. direct shows, ahead of the rest of the pack, with African athletes occasionally slightly ahead.
But it was the final moments of the race, when Mnangat and Keter both signaled He to run ahead of the others, that raised questions.
Beijing International Running Festival, the event's organizer, said in a statement. declare on Monday night that it had opened an investigation into the matter in response to “questions from online commentators about the race results” without naming the athletes involved. The statement said the organizers had established a “special investigation team” to look into the matter.
A spokesman for the Beijing Municipal Sports Bureau, which oversees sports in the city, confirmed by phone Tuesday morning that it was also investigating the race.
He did not immediately respond to a request for comment through Xtep, a sportswear company for which he is a spokesman. Keter and Hailu could not immediately be reached for comment.
Mnangat said South China Morning Post that he was acting as a pacemaker – someone who runs with other athletes to help them maintain their pace but is not officially a competitor – for He. Mnangat did not immediately respond to a request for comment through his representative.
He, 25, is the 77th ranked male marathon runner globally, according to World Athletics. Last year, he won the men's marathon at the Asian Games and last month he set a Chinese national record when he completed the Wuxi Marathon in 2:06:57.
This is not the first time long-distance runners in China have faced accusations of cheating as long-distance running becomes increasingly popular in the country.
In 2018, 258 participants were fined for cheating in the Shenzhen Half Marathon, with organizers accusing them of wearing fake bib numbers, hiring impostors and taking shortcuts. based on Chinese state media.
And in 2019, female runners were spotted cycling during the Xuzhou International Marathon and the Chengdu Women's Half Marathon.
