A video clip is going viral on social media of the Beijing Marathon race, in which a trio of African runners can be seen letting their Chinese opponent win by one second.
In the video, it can clearly be seen that runners Robert Keter and Willy Mnangat from Kenya, along with Dejene Hailu from Ethiopia, are racing towards the finish line while Chinese runner, He Jie is also keeping pace with them.
The African runners can be seen slowing down to letting He Jie win, pointing toward the finish line.
The broadcaster noticed that they all were together on the 21KM track. The Chinese runner won the gold medal while African runners won a joint silver medal.
According to South China Morning Post (SCMP), Willy Mnangat from Kenya said, “I let China’s He Jie win race because he is my friend.”
After six hours, Mnangat changed his statement saying, “I was not there to compete, it was not a competitive race for me”.
The Beijing Sports Competition Management and International Exchange Center, stated that they have started an investigation into the race.
On this ‘suspicious win’, World Athletics said, “We are aware of the footage circulating online from the Beijing Half Marathon and understand an investigation is currently being conducted by the relevant local authorities.”
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