Organizers of the Beijing Half Marathon said they were investigating Monday after video of the race appeared to show three African runners slowing down near the finish line so that a Chinese athlete could win.
He Jie, a member of China’s marathon team and a national record holder in the full marathon, had run the entire 13.1-mile race on Sunday with the three African runners. As they approached the finish line, at least one of the runners appeared to wave him ahead.
“I can see that the four individuals have great synergy,” a live sports commentator said as they entered the final stretch. “Throughout today’s race, these four remained together consistently and maintained communication with each other.”
He finished with a time of 1:03:44, while the other three runners — Dejene Hailu Bikila of Ethiopia and Robert Keter and Willy Mnangat of Kenya — tied for second at 1:03:45.
Mnangat told The South China Morning Post that he let He win because they are friends, and that he had not been told to do so or received any financial compensation for it.
Bikila and Keter could not immediately be reached for comment, and He has not publicly commented on the results controversy.
The Beijing Sports Bureau, the municipal body in charge of sports, told NBC News that the incident had its “utmost attention” and that the results of its investigation would be “promptly disclosed to the public.”
