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Organisers of the Beijing Half Marathon (北京半马) are investigating allegations that three international athletes deliberately allowed China's star runner, Hé Jié 何杰, to win the race which took place last Sunday.
Footage of the finish, broadcast on state television and shared widely on social media, shows Kenya's Robert Keter and Willy Mnangat, and Ethiopia's Dejene Hailu, slowing down and waving the Chinese runner past to take the lead just 200 metres from the finish line.
He Jie finished in 63 minutes 44 seconds, one second ahead of the other three runners, who tied for second place.
Willy Mnangat, the Kenyan runner who is seen waving He Jie past to take the lead, has since said he let He win “because he is my friend” according to SCMP. Mnangat added that no one told him to let He win, and he did not receive a financial reward for doing so.
Social media reactions were critical of the four runners:
I thought cheating only happens in football in China. I never expected to see the same in a marathon.
我以为中国只有足球有假球，想不到马拉松都可以这样玩。
We’ve talked about cheating and corruption in Chinese football before when the head of the China Football Association was arrested on corruption charges in February 2023.
Criticism was also directed at footwear brand, Xtep (特步 tèbù), a sponsor of the race, and of He Jie and the three other runners involved:
He Jie is a contracted athlete of the well-known sports brand Xtep. Coincidentally, the three other runners who finished second, third and fourth are also contracted athletes of the same brand. [5]
如果进一步分析，何杰是国内知名体育品牌特步的签约运动员——巧合的是，获得第二三四名的三位外籍跑者，同样也是该品牌的签约选手。[5]
Critics allege He Jie's win was orchestrated by Xtep, who paid his teammates to come second.
Controversy around the Beijing Half Marathon started before the race had begun, when a top Chinese athlete was disqualified days before.
Elite runner, Jiǎ‘é Rénjiā 贾俄仁加, whose half-marathon record is 62 minutes and 23 seconds (1 minute faster than He Jie's time in Beijing), was participating as a special guest but disqualified two days before by the event organising committee.
Jia’e is sponsored by another sports brand, Qiaodan (中乔 zhōngqiáo), a competitor of XStep.
On the track, the blatant cheating on show made things worse, and surprised many industry observers:
There is nothing new about “power struggle” among brand sponsors in sports competitions. It is also not inconceivable to fix a competition by disqualifying some participants.
But what I didn’t know, and what I was surprised to see, is that cheating following the playbook of money makes the world go round has become so blatant.
体育比赛之中存在品牌方之间“权力的游戏”，早已不是什么新鲜事，甚至像取消比赛选手比赛资格的暗箱操作，也都可以想象。但我竟不知，也不敢相信，弄虚作假，有钱能使鬼推磨的把戏，什么时候竟然如此明目张胆，堂而皇之了？
Commentary in the media suggests this was because of an unwritten rule in China’s marathon scene.
It’s a rule which means a major sponsor of a race, like Xtep, is much more likely to have its runners prominently featured on and off the podium.
Asked for comment by Jiemian News (界面新闻) about that allegation, Xtep responded:
Thank you for your attention, the current situation is still being confirmed and verified by multiple parties. Further information will be communicated to you as soon as possible.
谢谢关注。目前情况还在确认与多方调查核实中，后续有进一步的信息会第一时间跟您沟通。”[4]
According to some reports, international runners are active in commercial marathons in China, who compete for prize money as their main source of income.
However, most of their winnings are taken by profiteering agents:
There is a well established "grey" industry in running where specialised domestic management companies sign a group of foreign runners and have them participate in domestic marathon events. The management company will take the lion's share of their winnings.
国内有专门的经纪公司，签下一批国外选手，运作他们参加国内各个马拉松赛事，获得的奖金由经纪公司拿大头，选手拿小头，是一条极为成熟的灰色产业链。
The online discussions about the rigged race simmer with creative use of the Chinese language, including hard-to-translate puns and plays on words, like:
"He Jie was made the winner of the race." (何杰“被冠军”了)
Using the passive structure which implies the win was gifted to He Jie.
And:
"A pacer marathon" (伴程马拉松)
Play on words of “half” (半 bàn) and “accompany” (伴 bàn) which sound the same, implying the three runners were being pacemakers or "rabbits" (兔子) for He Jie.
So that's what we're exploring this week!
Favourite Five
1. 保送 bǎo sòng
to gift, to guarantee admission
保送冠军？被质疑的比赛结果 - Championship title guaranteed? Dubious match result. [5]
2. 放水 fàng shuǐ
to throw a match, to intentionally lose
选手放水护送何杰夺冠 - The runners threw the match to help He Jie win the championship. [1]
Note: “Water” (水) is a slang use which means “easy” like in 划水, to “slack off”
Related: 打假球 dǎjiǎ qiú - to cheat in a football match
3. 赤裸裸 chì luǒ luǒ
completely naked, blatant
怪不得有网友说，这个半程马拉松，就是赤裸裸的“伴程马拉松” - No wonder some netizens say that this half marathon is just a "pacer marathon" in disguise. [2]
4. 乌烟瘴气 wū yān zhàng qì
full of foul air; filthy
只有这样做，才能避免这种“假比赛”再次发生，否则中国马拉松将会是乌烟瘴气 - Only by doing this can we avoid such "rigged competitions" from happening again, otherwise, marathons in China will continue to be full of foul play. [3]
5. 有钱能使鬼推磨 yǒu qián néng shǐ guǐ tuī mò
money makes the world go round
我竟不知，也不敢相信，弄虚作假，有钱能使鬼推磨的把戏，什么时候竟然如此明目张胆，堂而皇之了？ - What I didn’t know, and what I was surprised to see, is that cheating following the playbook of "money makes the world go round" has become so blatant. [2]
More: Read more in this week’s Sinica Phrase of the Week tomorrow, where translate this phrase as: “money will make the devil turn the millstone”.
Consuming the Conversations
Useful words
6. 坑 kēng
to cheat, to deceive
他没有消极比赛，他一定程度上还被组委会坑了- He didn't deliberately lose the match; to some extent, the organising committee pulled a fast one on him. [3]
7. 猫腻 māo nì
hidden trick, shady deal, fishy
我们无法言之凿凿地认定这场比赛的结果存在猫腻 - We cannot confirm that there's something fishy going on in this match. [5]
Note: A slang word from the Beijing dialect which Zoe discusses more in the member podcast.
8. 践踏 jiàn tà
to trample, to violate
马拉松比赛不应该只是某些人赚钱的工具，为了自己的商业利益可以践踏所有人间正义 - Marathons should not merely serve as a tool for certain individuals to make money, who trample on all forms of justice for their own commercial interests. [3]
9. 深陷 shēn xiàn
to be deeply involved in, to be mired in
如今却深陷需要依靠别人放水才能夺冠的舆论漩涡 - But now he is mired in a public opinion storm that asserts he needs others to let him win. [1]
10. 傲骨 ào gǔ
pride, backbone
没有这份傲气和傲骨，我想他无法配得上这份成就 - I don't think he deserves this achievement without his pride and backbone. [1]
11. 买脚 mǎi jiǎo
to buy feet, to sponsor athletes
为了在顶级赛事上有更多的曝光度，品牌花钱“买脚”（赞助运动员、赞助赛事）并不是新鲜事 - It’s not uncommon for brands to gain exposure by sponsoring athletes or top level events. [4]
Three-character phrases
12. 潜规则 qián guī zé
unwritten rules, hidden rules
北京半马可能将以往的潜规则变为了明规则，开了一个非常恶劣的头 - The Beijing Half Marathon may have turned the previous unwritten rules into written ones, setting a very bad precedent. [1]
13. 喝倒彩 hè dào cǎi
to boo, to jeer
