Beijing Half-Marathon: Winners Results Annulled!
By Prof Dr Ian Blackshaw
The first four finishers of the recent Beijing Half-Marathon have had their results annulled and their medals withdrawn after an investigation, based on video evidence, has found that three African competitors deliberately slowed down two kilometres from the finishing line to allow a Chinese competitor, He Jie, to win the event.
The three African competitors, who jointly came second, were Willy Mnangat and Robert Keter, both from Kenya, and Dejene Hailu, from Ethiopia.
All four of them have been stripped of their medals and prizes.
The organiser has been disqualified, by the organising committee, from hosting the event and the sponsor has been banned from sponsoring any more races during the current season for being implicated in this affair.
He, who is 25 years old, is ranked, by World Athletics, as 74th in the world in the men’s marathon and is expected to compete in the Paris Olympics later this year.
Prof Dr Ian Blackshaw may be contacted by e-mail at ‘
