The organisers of Beijing Half Marathon which was held last weekend, have cancelled his first-place finish after an investigation determined that three other competitors had slowed down on purpose to give He Jie the chance to win the race.
The four runners had to return their medals and pay the award money after being disqualified.
Suspecting the race had been rigged, Chinese internet users have circulated the video from the closing minutes of Sunday’s competition.
Just before they crossed the finish line, the video showed three African racers allowing He jie, the best long-distance runner in China, to pass them.
The committee that was formed to look into the race released a statement claiming that the three racers had slowed down on purpose.
According to the special committee, four runners were first employed as pacemakers by a sponsor but that the main organizers of the race had not known this. One of the pacemakers didn’t finish the race.
The statement did not acknowledge whether the race was rigged, but it did issue an apology.
“We deeply and sincerely apologize to the world and to every part of society, that we did not discover and correct the mistakes in time at this race,” the committee said.
Zhong’ao Lupao Sports Management Co, the main organizer, is losing its right to host the Beijing Half Marathon as punishment.
One of the runners had told BBC Sport Africa that they allowed He to win because they had been hired to serve as pacemakers and were not competing to win the race.
“I was not there to compete,” Willy Mnangat of Kenya was quoted as saying. “My job was to set the pace and help the guy win but unfortunately he did not achieve the target, which was to break the national record.”
