Beijing Half Marathon organisers strip winner He Jie and overseas athletes of medals, prizes after controversial finish
- Chinese runner He won after Kenyans Willy Mnangat and Robert Keter, plus Ethiopia’s Dejene Hailu Bikila, moved aside within sight of the finish line
- Mnangat initially told the Post he let the Asian Games champion win ‘because he is my friend’, but later claimed he had been hired as a pacer
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Kenyan says he let China’s He Jie win Beijing Half Marathon ‘because he is my friend’
The organisers of last weekend’s Beijing Half Marathon have stripped winner He Jie and three other athletes of their medals and prize money following the race’s controversial ending.
Several companies involved in the running and promotion of the event have also been punished, losing contracts for future editions of the race, officials said in a statement on Friday.
The committee has been investigating Sunday’s incident ever since video emerged showing Kenyan athletes Willy Mnangat and Robert Keter, plus Ethiopia’s Dejene Hailu Bikila, moving aside within sight of the finish line to let He win.
He broke the tape in a time of one hour, three minutes and 44 seconds, a second ahead of Bikila, Keter and Mnangat.
Mnangat initially said he let the Chinese athlete overtake “because he is my friend”, but later claimed to have been hired as a pacer, even though he was not wearing anything identifying him as one.
“I was not there to compete,” Mnangat said. “My job was to set the pace and help the guy win but unfortunately he did not achieve the target, which was to break the national record.”
