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The 2024 Beijing Half Marathon is currently under investigation after an unlikely incident occurred at the final stretch of the event.
Three African athletes, including Robert Keter, Willy Mnangat, and Dejene Hailu Bikila were leading the lineup at the marathon when, in a rare instance at the final few meters, they gestured to the Chinese athlete, He Jie, to overtake them, showing the way to the finish line.
In a video released after the race, Keter and Mnangat of Kenya, and Hailu Bikila of Ethiopia are seen guiding the 25-year-old Chinese athlete to triumph. The Half Marathon was slated for Sunday, April 14, 2024.
Around 20,000 runners participated in the Half Marathon on the weekend and the Chinese athlete emerged as the eventual winner of the 2024 Beijing Half Marathon. He clocked a stunning time of 1:03:44s, a second ahead of the runner-up athlete.
Following the conclusion of the Half Marathon, on Monday, April 15, 2024, the organizers of the event issued a statement, affirming to conduct of an investigation. According to Sports Star, the organizers emphasized the significance of the issue raised and announced:
"The organizing committee attaches great importance to the issue raised by netizens about the results of the (race). A special investigation team has been set up to conduct an investigation, and the results of the investigation will be released to the public in a timely fashion."
He Jie falls short of creating a national record at the 2024 Beijing Half Marathon
Following the unusual occurrence at the 2024 Beijing Half Marathon, one of the three African athletes, who were initially ahead of the Chinese runner, disclosed that he participated in the event as a pacemaker for Jie.
Willy Mnangat admitted to The Guardian that the event was non-competitive for him and that he let the Chinese runner win because of their friendship.
I was not there to compete,” Mnangat said. “It was not a competitive race for me"
"He comes to Kenya and I was [pacing for him] in the Wuxi Marathon, so he is my friend," Mnangat reasoned why he let Jie win the event.
"I don’t know why they put my name on my bib/chest number instead of labelling it as a pacemaker. My job was to set the pace and help the guy (He Jie) win but unfortunately, he did not achieve the target, which was to break the national record.”
Jie fell short of 1 minute and 11 seconds to set a new national half marathon record.
