Scandal at the Beijing half marathon, the Chinese winner and the three Kenyan athletes who let him pass disqualified

All disqualified. He Jie, the Chinese athlete who won the Beijing half marathon on Sunday 14 April and the three African runners who slowed down a few meters from the finish line and let him pass, were punished and also had to return the medals and prize money. The decision was taken by the Beijing 2024 Half Marathon Committee “after the investigation into the management of the results of the men’s race”, reported the state network CCTV: the results of the 4 athletes “were not approved and were cancelled”.

Obvious scandal: the three Kenyans slow down

The story, which went viral, appeared clear from the videos of the last moments of the race immediately shared by Chinese online users because they suspected that it had been rigged: the three African runners (the Kenyans Robert Keter and Willy Mnangat, and the Ethiopian Dejene Hailu), having gathered a few tens of meters from the finish line, they had slowed down on purpose, while one of them had extended his arm outwards as if to signal the other two to stay behind to allow He to cross the finish line with a second of advantage.

The commission’s decision

The Beijing Sports Office and the Organizing Committee had promised to shed light on the episode as soon as possible: the commission set up to investigate the race decided that the three runners deliberately reduced their pace: the consequent disqualification was inevitable. The performance of He, gold medalist in the marathon of the 2023 Asian Games, was eagerly awaited ahead of the Paris Olympics.