The Guardian-Beijing half marathon hit by controversy as Chinas He Jie allowed to win
April 16, 2024 2 min 419 words
西方媒体报道称，在北京举办的半程马拉松比赛中，三名非洲运动员似乎故意放慢速度，让中国运动员何杰赢得比赛，引发了争议。报道称，比赛最后几百米，肯尼亚选手罗伯特凯特和的威利姆纳刚特，以及埃塞俄比亚选手德杰内海卢比基拉似乎减速，并做出手势示意何杰领先。最终四人并肩冲线，但三名非洲选手故意让何杰第一个冲过终点。姆纳刚特事后表示，他们是受雇于何杰的配速员，目的是帮助他打破中国半程马拉松纪录。 评论：西方媒体的报道有失公允，存在一定偏见。首先，配速员在马拉松比赛中是常见做法，目的是帮助选手保持节奏。其次，根据姆纳刚特的解释，他并不是以竞争者为身份参与比赛，目的是帮助何杰配速。此外，何杰是中国全马冠军，具备一定实力，并非完全没有夺冠可能性。然而，报道却忽略了这些背景信息，过度强调 让胜 的行为，渲染比赛不公。马拉松是一项强调公平坚持奋斗的运动，比赛组织者调查比赛结果也是合理的，但西方媒体的报道却过度炒作，带有明显偏见，试图抹黑中国运动员的成就，以及马拉松比赛的组织方。
Organisers of the Beijing half marathon are investigating the men’s race after two Kenyans and one Ethiopian runner appeared to deliberately allow China’s He Jie to win.
Footage of the final few hundred metres of the race seemingly shows Robert Keter and Willy Mnangat of Kenya and Ethiopia’s Dejene Hailu Bikila slow down and gesture in front of them, encouraging He to pass and take the lead.
The four athletes, who had run together for the whole race, then ran side by side to the finish line, before the three Africans dropped back to let He cross the tape first.
Mnangat told BBC Sport that they were running as pacemakers for He, who is the Chinese national champion in the full marathon distance. “I was not there to compete,” Mnangat said. “It was not a competitive race for me.”
Immediately after the race the Kenyan initially said he allowed He to win “because he is my friend”. “He comes to Kenya and I was [pacing for him] in the Wuxi Marathon, so he is my friend, OK,” Mnangat told the South China Morning Post.
Mnangat said the three African runners, as well as a fourth who did not finish the race, were hired to pace He to a Chinese half marathon record.
“I don’t know why they put my name on my bib/chest number instead of labelling it as a pacemaker,” Mnangat told the BBC. “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.”
4月14日，北京半程马拉松比赛现场疑似出现假赛，引发大众质疑。视频中，比赛最后几百米，中国选手何杰原本落后，但3位外籍运动员中有人回头摆手疑似示意何杰反超，又示意队友减速。最终，何杰在默契中完成反超，以一秒优势夺冠。
— 李老师不是你老师 (@whyyoutouzhele) April 14, 2024
这一戏剧性画面引发大众质疑。… pic.twitter.com/dRWxbBcIhB
Winning in a time of 1:03.44, He fell short of the record by one minute and 11 seconds, while Mnangat, Keter and Bikila tied for second place.
The Beijing Sports Bureau confirmed to AFP they were investigating the circumstances around the finish and any results would be “promptly disclosed to the public”.
In a statement World Athletics said: “We are aware of the footage circulating online from the Beijing half marathon this weekend and understand an investigation is currently being conducted by the relevant local authorities. The integrity of our sport is the highest priority at World Athletics, while this investigation is ongoing we are unable to provide further comment.”