Controversy at Beijing Half Marathon: He Jie Disqualified for Cheating

20.04.2024

He Jie, who won the first men’s marathon gold medal at the Asian Games in China in 2023, was deliberately rejected by three foreign runners in the Beijing Half Marathon held last Sunday. All four were disqualified from the competition and their trophies, medals and bonuses were withdrawn.

(Deutsche Welle Chinese website) The Beijing Half Marathon was held last Sunday (April 14)marathonDuring the tournament, the Chinese player He Jie suspected that three foreign players had deliberately “gone” when he was near the finish line, causing controversy.

After investigating the matter, the event’s organizing committee made a decision on Friday (April 19): Chinese player He Jie and three foreign players were disqualified from the competition, and the companies involved there, China Olympic Road Run (Beijing) and Xiamen, dismissed. xtep coalition.

A video showing suspected cheating has circulated on the Internet It can be seen from him: Just a few hundred meters away from the finish line, Kenyan players Robert Keter and Willy Mnangat, who originally had the lead, and a player Ethiopia Hai Lu (Dejene Hailu) seemed to slow down on purpose, and one of them even reached out to stop the other two players, together moving He Jie to the left of the road, which is more suitable for sprinting. Jie crossed the finish line first and won the race with a 1 second advantage.

The four runners ran just over 21 kilometers on the streets of Beijing.

Chinese media said that according to the decision, the results of the competition of He Jie and the three foreign players involved were canceled, and the prizes, medals and bonuses were recovered; the Beijing Sports Competition and International Trade Management Center was contacted and reprimanded. After the investigation’s conclusion was released, Zhongao Road Running Company and Xtep Company respectively issued apology statements.

Are African athletes “pacers”?

At the Hangzhou Asian Games in October 2023, He Jie won the men’s marathon competition, earning the Chinese track and field team’s first men’s marathon gold medal in Asian Games history. According to reports, He Jie is an athlete under contract with Xtep. The three foreign players also wore Xtep brand sportswear when they participated in this tournament.

Mannagagte told the BBC that he and two other runners from Africa were packers, although their jerseys did not indicate this.

The investigation results of the Beijing Half Marathon Organizing Committee said that Xtep did not clearly identify the pacers, which led the China-Ao Road Running Company to not report to the organizing committee and register four foreign pacers as athletes with special invitation, their actions so close to the finish line were against the rules of the race.

China Central Television said in a separate report on Friday that the Chinese Athletics Association later responded that it would start “with institutional regulations to further strengthen the management, supervision and services of road running events”.

The upset of the game has attracted a lot of attention on social media in China, with many Weibo users praising the decision that was announced on Friday.

Hu Xijin, former editor-in-chief of China’s state-run Global Times, posted on Weibo, “The results of the punishment are very gratifying. They deserve it.

Sports blogger Sun Yuxuan wrote: “It was originally a good event and an opportunity for good publicity. If it has to end like this, the negative impact this time will last for a long time.”

Cheating in marathon

In recent years,Long distance running and marathon sports are among the Chinese middle classbutDeceptionAnd poor organization is also common.

In 2018, in a half marathon in Shenzhen, a city in southern China, 258 runners were found to have cheated together, some running for others, some making up bib numbers, and many runners taking “shortcuts” through green belts 21 runners permanently banned by the organisers.

In 2019, at the Xuzhou International Marathon in eastern China, a female competitor was photographed riding a split green bicycle. After the referee stopped her from riding again, she was eventually banned from racing for life.

(AFP, etc.)

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