The Beijing half marathon is under investigation following allegations that three African athletes intentionally slowed down to enable China’s star runner, He Jie, to win. During Sunday’s race, video footage surfaced showing Kenya’s Robert Keter and Willy Mnangat, as well as Ethiopia’s Dejene Hailu, running alongside He before gesturing him past and decelerating.
He went on to finish first with a time of 1:03:44. This incident ignited outrage among Chinese fans, prompting an investigation by World Athletics to examine the “integrity” of the race’s outcome.
In response to the footage, World Athletics issued a statement to the BBC, acknowledging the ongoing investigation being conducted by local authorities. They emphasized the highest priority of maintaining the integrity of the sport and refrained from further comment while the investigation is in progress.
Despite the allegations, Mnangat, who finished in joint-second place, asserted to BBC Sport Africa that the three athletes served as pacemakers for He. According to Mnangat, four runners were contracted to assist He in breaking the Chinese half-marathon record, with one of them failing to complete the race.
Mnangat expressed dissatisfaction, stating that the race was not competitive for him and questioned the labeling of his bib number as a pacemaker, emphasizing He’s previous marathon gold at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou.
