Beijing Half-Marathon Winners Stripped Over Collusion

Following a controversial finish at last week’s Beijing half-marathon, Chinese runner He Jie and three other top finishers have been stripped of their medals and awards. The incident, captured in a viral video, appeared to show runners Dejene Hailu Bikila of Ethiopia, and Robert Keter and Willy Mnangat of Kenya, intentionally slowing down to allow He to cross the finish line first.

An investigation by the Beijing Half-Marathon Organizing Committee confirmed suspicions raised by the video. They found that Bikila, Keter, and Mnangat did indeed slow their pace to let He win. Consequently, all four runners were stripped of their trophies, medals, and awards. Additionally, the committee reported the runners to the China Athletics Association.

The committee’s investigation also uncovered potential fault on the part of Xtep, a Chinese sports equipment manufacturer and sponsor of the event. Xtep was also a sponsor of He. The committee claimed that Xtep failed to properly register Bikila, Keter, and Mnangat as non-competing “pacer” runners. This oversight caused the three runners to be mistakenly listed as competitors, leading to the controversial finish.

As a result of the investigation, Xtep has been disqualified as a partner for the Beijing Half-Marathon. Furthermore, the race’s operator, the Zhongao Luapao Beijing Sports Management Company, has been disqualified from hosting and operating future events.

In the aftermath of the race, Mnangat initially stated to media outlets that he allowed He to win because they are friends. However, he later clarified to the BBC that he was hired to set a pace for He in an attempt to break the Chinese half-marathon record. Mnangat emphasized that he was not there to compete against He.

He Jie is considered China’s top-ranked long-distance runner, boasting an impressive list of accomplishments. He broke a nearly two-decade-old marathon record last year and then went on to break his own record a few months later. He has aspirations to compete in the Olympics and viewed the Beijing half-marathon as part of his training regimen for this year’s games in Paris. Xtep has been sponsoring He since 2021.

Long-distance running has been gaining popularity in China in recent years. However, the sport has faced scrutiny in the country before. In 2018, 258 runners in the Shenzhen half-marathon were caught cheating in various ways, including wearing fake bibs and taking shortcuts.