Beijing half marathon medalists stripped of medals after allegations of unfair competition

Organizers stripped the winner of the Beijing half marathon and three other athletes of their medals and prize money after an incident at the finish line, the South China Morning Post reports.

The half-marathon, organized on Sunday, was won by the Chinese He Jie. Shortly before the finish, Kenyan athletes Willie Mnangat and Robert Keter, as well as Ethiopian Dejene Hailu Bikila, let He Jie pass, who won gold.

Mnangata initially said he let the Chinese athlete pass him because he was his friend, but later said he was hired as a pacemaker.

“I wasn’t there to compete.” “My job was to set the pace and help the guy win, but unfortunately he didn’t achieve the goal of breaking the national record,” Mnangata said previously.

Bikila, Keter and Mnangat finished second, third and fourth respectively, all disqualified.

The organizing committee said in a statement that the three African runners “actively slowed down in the last two kilometers, which allowed He Jie to win the race.”