The results of the Beijing Half Marathon perplexed the world. He Jie, a local runner, won after overtaking, in the last stretch of the popular race, two Kenyan runners and one Ethiopian who were fighting for victory. However, he did not do so by pushing to overtake them, but rather because the three African runners appeared to let their rival to move into first place and climb to the top of the podium.
3 African Athletes let Chinese Runner, He Jie win the 2024 Beijing Half Marathon.
He finished first with a time of 1:03:44.
Dejene Hailu Bikila 🇪🇹, Robert Keter 🇪🇹 and Willy Mnangat 🇰🇪 finished second with a time of 1:03:45.
Willy said he let him win because he is his friend. pic.twitter.com/NoZAJ553G6
— Africa Facts Zone (@AfricaFactsZone) April 16, 2024
The footage shows one of the African runners pointing out the end of the race to Jie. Subsequently, the three slow down their pace and start gesturing to the Chinese athlete, encouraging him to cross the finish line in first place.
This event has prompted the organizers of the event to launch an investigation into possible cheating among the competitors, although Mnangat, one of the African athletes, assured that he let Jie win because he is a friend, according to The South China Morning Post.
