In response to the Beijing Half Marathon championship results that raised doubts, on April 19, Nandu reporters learned from Xtep that the company apologized and said that the relevant staff made a mistake during the registration process and did not identify his pacer identity, which resulted in him being labeled as a special inviter. Players compete as contestants, and there are differences in identity and behavior. Xtep bears a great responsibility for this, fully accepts the punishment decision made by the organizing committee, and seriously deals with those involved. On the same day, the 2024 Beijing Half Marathon Organizing Committee issued an announcement to impose penalties on relevant units and individuals involved, cancel the competition results of He Jie and three foreign pacers, and withdraw trophies, medals and bonuses.
Xtep apology statement.
Xtep pointed out that during the preparations for the event, Xtep invited four foreign athletes to serve as pacers for Chinese athlete He Jie (commonly known as "Rabbit"). The relevant staff of Xtep made a mistake during the registration process and did not identify his pacer, which resulted in him participating as a specially invited player, resulting in differences in identity and behavior. Xtep bears a great responsibility for this and fully accepts the punishment decision made by the organizing committee, and will seriously reflect on and conduct in-depth review and deal with those involved seriously. Xtep will learn from its lessons, comprehensively investigate all processes and systems for event operations, and make timely improvements to ensure that such incidents will not happen again in the future.
On the same day, the 2024 Beijing Half Marathon Organizing Committee issued a decision on the investigation and handling of the men's race results, punishing the relevant units and individuals involved, and canceling the results of four people, including He Jie and three foreign pacers. , to recover trophies, medals and bonuses. Xtep, the event sponsor and event partner, did not clearly mark the pacers, which resulted in the organizer not reporting to the organizing committee and registering four foreign pacers as specially invited athletes. The organizing committee announced that it would cancel the Xtep event partner qualifications, instruct it to publicly apologize to the society, and severely deal with those responsible.
In the Beijing Half Marathon held on April 14, Chinese marathon runner He Jie won the championship in 1 hour, 3 minutes and 44 seconds. However, the broadcast footage showed that in the last few hundred meters, He Jie was lagging behind. The top three foreign sprinters seemed to have deliberately slowed down and made "go-forward" gestures during the sprint. In the end, He Jie won the championship with a one-second advantage, and the sponsor Xtep was trapped. Interfering with the outcome of the event.
Written by: Nandu reporter Feng Yiran
