Allegations that three African runners deliberately slowed down to allow Chinese athlete He Jie win the Beijing half-marathon are being investigated by the event’s organisers. Footage from the race shows He running behind three other athletes before they appear to let him go past.
In footage shared on social media, all four runners close in on the final stretch of the race. He is behind Kenyan duo Robert Keter and Willy Mnangat, and Ethiopia’s Dejene Hailu.
Bizarrely, one of the runners points towards the finish line while the others visibly slow down. He ran beyond his three competitions and went on to win the race.
He finished one second ahead of the trio, who all passed the finish line at the same time and were given joint-second place. The 25-year-old winner is his country’s record holder in the event and previously won gold in the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou.
The Beijing Sports Bureau say they are investigating the end of the race and will make the results public. None of the runners involved have commented on the incident.
A spokesperson at the Beijing Sports Bureau confirmed its investigation to AFP and added: “We will announce the results to the public once they are available.”
World Athletics said: “We are aware of the footage circulating online from the Beijing half marathon this weekend and understand an investigation is currently being conducted by the relevant local authorities.
“The integrity of our sport is the highest priority at World Athletics, while this investigation is ongoing we are unable to provide further comment.”
Xstep, a Chinese sports brand who sponsored the event and who the BBC report have a contract with He, told Chinese state-owned The Paper: “The situation is still being confirmed and verified by multiple parties. Further information will be communicated as soon as possible.”
Users on the Chinese social media platform Weibo were critical of the race. One individual said that “this is no doubt the most embarrassing title of He Jie’s career” in a damning post. The post received more than 1,000 lines.
Another user added: “With such a major organiser and such a well-known event, this really pushes sportsmanship to the ground in shame.”
