Chinese Half-Marathon ‘Winner’ Stripped of Medal After Video Shows Suspicious Finish
The announced first-place winner and the three men tied for second place behind him in April 14th’s Beijing Half-Marathon have been stripped of their medals and prize money after an investigation showed that three of…
The announced first-place winner and the three men tied for second place behind him in April 14th’s Beijing Half-Marathon have been stripped of their medals and prize money after an Investigation showed that three of them had been registered as competing in the race but were actually there to support the “winner.”
Chinese runner He Jie crossed the finish line first, with a time of one hour, three minutes and 44 seconds, according to Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post.
He was followed immediately thereafter by Dejene Hailu Bikila of Ethiopia and Willy Mnangat and Robert Keter of Kenya.
The four men had run the entire race together, and suspicions were raised when Video surfaced that appeared to show the African runners waving He forward and gesturing at the finish line.
Mnangat later said that he’d been hired to run the race as a pacer for He, not as a competitor.
The U.K.’s Telegraph shared Video of the finish.