Achi news desk-
Hong Kong –
Beijing authorities are investigating Sunday’s Beijing Half Marathon after footage shared online showed three African runners appearing to slow down near the finish line to allow China’s He Jie to overtake them and win.
He won in a time of 1:03:44, a second ahead of Ethiopia’s Djena Hailu Bikila and Kenyans Robert Keter and Willie Mnangat, who all tied for second.
Videos, which Reuters tried to verify, showed the three African runners waving He, who was slightly behind them, in front and gesturing towards the finish line. All four ran together for the entire race of just over 13 miles.
He is a member of China’s marathon team and holds the national marathon record.
The organizer of the event – the Beijing Sports Competition Administration and the International Exchange Center – referred Reuters to the organizing committee of the half marathon.
The Beijing Sports Bureau, the municipal body in charge of sports, said an investigation was underway and the findings would be released later.
The state-controlled Global Times newspaper said his performance “raised skepticism, as the three African runners appeared to be deliberately slowing down for him to catch up.”
But many reactions on social media were scathing, calling the race “awkward” or a “show”.
Distance running is increasingly popular in China, but the races have a checkered history of cheating and poor organization. In the 2018 Shenzhen Half Marathon, 258 cheating participants were caught. Most of them took shortcuts while some wore fake aprons and others were impersonators.
(Reporting by Farah Master and Beijing Newsroom; Editing by Kevin Lippi)
