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Organizers of the Beijing Half Marathon are investigating allegations that three African athletes knowingly allowed China's star runner He Jie to win Sunday's race.
footage surfaced, exterior To point out Kenya's Robert Cater and Willie Mnangat and Ethiopia's Degen Hailu pointing in the direction of the road and slowing down earlier than waving 'he' previous.
He, 25, completed one second forward of the trio, who completed second.
This consequence was criticized by some Chinese language social media customers.
A spokesperson for the Beijing Sports activities Bureau informed AFP they have been investigating the incident and mentioned, “We are going to announce the outcomes to the general public as quickly as they’re accessible.”
Xstep, a Chinese language sports activities model that sponsored the occasion and has a contract with He, informed the Chinese language state-owned paper, exterior: “The state of affairs continues to be being confirmed and verified by a number of events. Additional data might be communicated as quickly as doable.”
The 25-year-old gained marathon gold on the 2023 Asian Video games in Hangzhou and is his nation's document holder within the occasion.
No runner has commented on this incident.
Customers of the Chinese language social media web site Weibo posted a remark in regards to the race, saying “That is undoubtedly essentially the most embarrassing title shot of He Jie's profession”, which acquired over 1,000 likes.
One other submit added: “With such a giant organizer and such a well-known occasion, it actually places the spirit of sports activities to disgrace.”