He Jie appears in footage to have received deliberate support from three other runners to win. Videos of the race show He Jie, 25, being left behind by Kenyans Robert Keter and Willy Mnangat, as well as Ethiopian Dejene Hailu.
“We are investigating and we will announce the conclusion to the public when it is known,” a Beijing city official in charge of sports told AFP on Monday. Several sporting events in China have been marred by cheating in recent years. In 2019, a participant in the Xuzhou international marathon (eastern China) was seen and filmed on… a bicycle. That same year, a Chinese orienteering team was disqualified for “cheating” during the Military Games. The investigation is ongoing, we are unable to comment further on this matter, said Jamie Fox, a spokesperson for the international athletics federation, World Athletics, in an email sent to AFP. ‘The integrity of our sport is World Athletics’ highest priority,’ he said.