Beijing half marathon runners who ‘slowed down to let Chinese runner win’ stripped of medals and bonuses
THREE Beijing half marathon runners have been stripped of their medals over shocking scenes at the end of the race.
The decision was made after a bizarre end which saw He Jie seemingly allowed to win.
The Chinese runner appeared to be let through to first place by three African runners.
He finished with a time of 1:03.44 ahead of Ethiopian runner Dejene Hailu Bikila and Kenyans Robert Keter and Willy Mnangat.
The three Africans came in as joint second place, but an investigation found that they “actively slowed down” to let He Jie win, according to Reuters.
As a result, they have been stripped of their medals and bonuses for finishing the race.
The organising committee said in a statement: “[They] actively slowed down in the last two kilometres, and as a result, He Jie won the men’s championship.
“They added that the ‘trophies, medals and bonuses will be recovered.”
The race operator, Zhongao Lupao Beijing Sports Management, have also been disqualified from hosting and operating the event.
Mnangat reportedly told the BBC that he and the other Africans were running as pacemakers.
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He claimed that he had been contracted to beat the national half marathon record of 1:02:33, which he was not able to do.
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.
“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 operator claimed that its partner Xiamen Xtep had not noted the needed pacer information.
This mistake meant that the organising committee were not informed.
A Xtep statement read: ” Our company has unshirkable responsibility and would like to experience our sincere apologies to all runners.
“We bear a great responsibility and fully accept the punishment decision made by the organising committee.”
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