APA-Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) Organizers of the Beijing half marathon say the four runners involved in last Sunday’s controversial race finish have been stripped of their medals.
They had launched an investigation after video clips of the race showed Kenyans Robert Keter and Willy Mnangat and Ethiopia’s Dejene Bikila deliberately slowing down before the finish line to let China’s He Jie win.
The three African runners were invited by Xtep, the official sponsor of the Beijing Half Marathon, to act as He’s pacesetters, but were ineligible to compete as elite athletes, the organizing committee said in a statement.
Therefore, the statement said that the three African runners and the Chinese runner have been disqualified for the staged race result.
“Their trophies, medals and bonuses will be returned,” the statement added.
China Olympic Road Running (Beijing) Sports Management Co., Ltd. stated that the race operator was denied the rights to run in the Beijing Half Marathon and Xtep was disqualified as a race partner.
In response to the decision, an official of the Chinese Athletics Association told media that the sport’s governing body was keen to ensure the healthy development of road running, which is popular among the country’s sports fans.
“The Chinese Athletics Association will further strengthen the supervision, guidance and services of road running events and urge regional associations and event organizers to learn lessons from this Beijing Half Marathon and strive to ensure the healthy development of the event.” , said the official, who declined. to be named.
The Chinese Athletics Association issued a statement earlier this week pledging to make improvements to the sport in the country.
About 20,000 runners took part in the Beijing Half Marathon last Sunday.
He, the 2023 Asian Games Marathon gold medalist, broke the national record by clocking two hours six minutes 57 seconds in the full marathon last month in Wuxi.
MG/as/APA