Beijing Half Marathon: the top four after new controversy in China

The organizers of the Beijing half-marathon announced on Friday the disqualification of the first four from the event, after the controversial victory on Sunday of a Chinese runner who benefited from undue help from three other competitors. Videos of the finish of the race had raised many questions and sparked an outcry in China on social networks, pushing the organizers to open an investigation at the start of the week.

The images that have gone viral show Chinese athlete He Jie, marathon gold medalist at the 2023 Asian Games, left behind as he approaches the finish line by Kenyans Robert Keter and Willy Mnangat, as well as by the Ethiopian Dejene Hailu. But they then seem to slow down and signal the Chinese runner to pass, which surprised viewers and Internet users. Willy Mnangat then declared on British television BBC that all three of them were “hares”, that is to say simply responsible for leading the pace, although their bibs did not indicate this.

The three runners were indeed pace leaders, but had not been declared as such by one of the partner companies of the race, which was in charge, confirmed the organizing committee in a press release cited by the Chinese state television CCTV. The Chinese runner and the three hares are therefore “disqualified”, announced the organizers in this document, published after their investigation. Their “trophies, medals and bonuses” were also “withdrawn,” they said. The organizing committee says it feels “deeply guilty” for not having “detected and corrected” this problem in time. “We offer our most sincere apologies,” he stressed.

He Jie's controversial victory stirred up the Chinese internet. “It’s certainly the most embarrassing competition of (his) career,” said a user of the social network Weibo. “Sportsmanship has really been reduced to nothing, it’s a shame,” railed another. Several sporting events in China have already been hit by controversies in recent years. In 2019, a participant in the Xuzhou International Marathon was seen and filmed on a bicycle.

That same year, a Chinese orienteering team was disqualified for “cheating” during the Military Games. Chinese athletes won first places in a test consisting of using maps and compasses to orient themselves as quickly as possible. But it turned out that they had been “helped by spectators, markings and small paths prepared for them and of which only they had knowledge,” estimated the International Orienteering Federation.