The announced first-place winner and the three men tied for second place behind him in April 14th’s Beijing Half-Marathon have been stripped of their medals and prize money after an investigation showed that three of them had been registered as competing in the race but were actually there to support the “winner.”
Chinese runner He Jie crossed the finish line first, with a time of one hour, three minutes and 44 seconds, according to Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post.
He was followed immediately thereafter by Dejene Hailu Bikila of Ethiopia and Willy Mnangat and Robert Keter of Kenya.
The four men had run the entire race together, and suspicions were raced when video surfaced that appeared to show the African runners waving He forward and gesturing at the finish line.
Mnangat later said that he’d been hired to run the race as a pacer for He, not as a competitor.
The U.K.’s Telegraph shared video of the finish.
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“Mnangat initially said he let the Chinese athlete overtake ‘because he is my friend,’ but later claimed to have been hired as a pacer, even though he was not wearing anything identifying him as one,” the Morning Post reported.
“I was not there to compete,” Mnangat said, according to the report. “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.”
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The race’s organizing committee said pacers require their approval, which they did not get prior to the race.
After looking into the incident, the organizing committee determined that the three African runners “actively slowed down in the last two kilometres and as a result He Jie won the men’s championship,” the outlet reported.
“We deeply and sincerely apologise to the world and to every part of society, that we did not discover and correct the mistakes in time at this race,” the committee said, according to the Morning Post.
The committee did not state whether it had found the race to have been “rigged,” however.
In addition to losing their medals and prize money, all three athletes would be reported to the Chinese Athletics Association, although it was not reported what consequences that might have for them.
Two companies involved in putting on the race also faced repercussions, according to the report.
The Zhongao Lupao Beijing Sports Management company, which was listed as the race operator, would no longer be permitted to host or operate the half-marathon.
Race sponsor Xiamen Xtep Investment, a sportswear company that lists He as a compensated spokesman, would also no longer be allowed to partner with the competition and would be required to issue an apology as well, the Morning Post reported.
The company issued what the outlet labeled a “comprehensive apology” on Friday.
