These African Runners Appeared To Let A Chinese Runner Win A Race In China, Causing A Controversy
In the final meters of the race, the three other runners are seen gesturing to China's He Jie to take the lead in front of them while they fall back.
Two Kenyan and an Ethiopian runner appear to have allowed a Chinese runner to win Beijing’s half marathon on Sunday April 14, creating speculation that the race was rigged.
Footage of the race showed Kenya’s Robert Keter and Willy Mnangat, Ethiopia’s Deene Hailu Bikila and China’s He Jie running side by side throughout the race.
In the final meters of the race, the three other runners are seen gesturing to He to take the lead in front of them while they fall back.
He won the race with a time of 1 hour 3 minutes 44 seconds.
Mnangat, Keter and Hailu tied for second, one second later.
People have criticized the results of the race, prompting organizers to launch an investigation.
Mnangat told BBC Sports Africa that they had been hired as pacemakers for He, who wanted to break the Chinese half-marathon record of one hour two minutes 33 seconds, but failed by around a minute.
Pacemakers are people who run along with another athlete to help them to maintain their speed but do not officially compete.
“I was not there to compete,” he said. “It was not a competitive race for me.”
Although the runners were hired as pacemakers, they had been entered as official competitors.
“I don’t know why they put my name on my bib/chest number instead of labeling it as a pacemaker,” Mnangat added.
Other runners have not come forward with their statements.
He holds China’s full marathon record and won gold in the marathon race at the 2023 Asian games in Hangzhou.
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