brings the "Overlord" character into reality. This generation of melon-eating people still have some imagination.
For example, they believe that "capital" can "shape the wind and rain" and influence gold medal events.
In the Beijing Half Marathon that ended on April 14, Chinese marathon runner He Jie won first place, but it aroused doubts.
Near the end of the game, Mnangat and three other black athletes seemed to take the initiative to "let go" and "give" the championship to He Jie.
And He Jie is also a contracted athlete of Xtep, so Xtep's "manipulation theory" came out.
At first glance, the manipulation theory seems self-explanatory. In fact, it overestimates Xtep’s reputation and underestimates the integrity of the Northern Half Marathon.
The Northern Half Marathon, hosted by the Beijing Sports Bureau, is a gold medal event and can be called one of Beijing’s flagship events. How could it be manipulated by a private enterprise from afar? !
In response to the above doubts, on April 19, the Beijing Half Marathon Organizing Committee sealed the case and released the results of the investigation: Xtep invited a total of four pacers, including the aforementioned three athletes, to participate, and one of them was At the same time, Xtep was negligent and failed to clearly identify the pacers, and the organizer of the event, China Olympic Road Running Company, did not report the identity of the aforementioned pacers to the organizing committee.
The investigation conclusion criticized Xtep's negligence, but it also made it clear that there is no so-called "recommendation champion", which can be regarded as indirectly clearing Xtep of its manipulation theory stigma.
If you make a mistake, you will be beaten. The organizing committee is not used to Xtep and directly cancels Xtep's event partner qualifications. At the same time, the results of He Jie and three black athletes are cancelled, and the trophies, medals and bonuses are withdrawn. The punishment is not light. The investigation conclusion of the organizer of
, the practice of pacemakers in Chinese and foreign marathons, and Mnangagt’s statement about the BBC claiming to be a “pacemaker” are mutually confirmed by the three parties. They are reasonable, logical and highly credible. After the truth about
emerges, can the prejudice of manipulating the game and guaranteeing the championship be eliminated?
What is wrong with Xtep that is not innocent?
Regarding this controversy, there is only one truth, but two opinions. The opinions of professional runners and the masses are polarized.
This stems from the cognitive bias of both parties - are the three black athletes independent competitors, or pacemakers accompanying He Jie?
In many marathons, there will be runners uniformly dressed, wearing bunny hats, holding balloons, and clearly wearing the "pace" logo.
Their role is that of pacemakers (also known as rabbits, pacemakers, or pacers in English).
From the perspective of status, rabbits are divided into official rabbits and private rabbits.
official rabbits are usually invited by the organizer. They are masters of speed control. They are comparable to kilometer timers on the track. They serve as a frame of reference for other athletes, helping them control the rhythm and cheering.
Private Rabbit is the exclusive pacer of a certain runner. His duty is to lead the runner to complete the race within the predetermined time. Its role is to clear the way, break the wind, get supplies, stabilize the pace, and "boost" at the finish line. "wait.
In 2019, Kipchoge, the marathon legend and marathon world record holder known as Joe God, selected 41 top athletes from around the world to serve as wind-breaking rabbits. A group of 7 people took turns every 5 kilometers. Assisted Qiao Shen to successfully break 2.
In this Beijing Half Marathon, the three black athletes are actually He Jie’s personal rabbits.
He Jie just broke the national record in the Wuxi Marathon in March. As a member of the national team, through private rabbit assists, it is not difficult to understand that he hopes to break the half marathon record again. Of course, in the end, He Jie failed to do so due to his poor physical condition.
As for the black athletes who waved to He Jie at the finish line, they were also fulfilling the duty of a private rabbit. The first duty of a private rabbit is to assist the runners he serves, challenge his personal limits, and achieve the best results.
It is not surprising that the melon-eating crowd booed this scene - although the character of Rabbit is well known in the marathon circle, its awareness among the general public is extremely low. Information bias ultimately leads to misunderstandings.
industry practices are the first level closer to the truth.The official investigation of
is the second level closer to the truth. It confirms that there was unintentional negligence on the part of Xtep and the event organizer, but there was no subjective manipulation.
The statements of the parties concerned and the authoritative reports of foreign media are the third level close to the truth.
html On April 15, Mnangat told the authoritative media BBC that the three people participated in the Beijing Half Marathon as pacers. "I am not here to participate in the official competition." "I don't know why my bib number says My name was not marked as the pacer. My job was to set the pace and help He Jie win, but unfortunately, he failed to break the national record."
Nowadays, there are many layers of truth. , mutually confirming each other, the manipulation theory can be put to rest, we might as well let the "hat" be reduced and let the truth fly for a while.
Xtep is not the "overlord" and cannot control the Northern Half Marathon
The official investigation conclusion has been released, but it may not be able to completely eliminate rumors and prejudice.
We assume that Xtep did "manipulate" the game. To set up such a big game, Xtep must simultaneously handle He Jie, African athletes, event organizers and organizers, and authoritative Chinese and foreign media. Only in this way can the above-mentioned parties agree and work together. Endorse it. Does
Xtep have this capability?
From the perspective of interests, it is not difficult for any party involved in the situation to predict the overwhelming public opinion and abuse they will face after the truth is revealed, and even completely ruin their brand image, career, etc.
Is this a good deal?
, as one of the best running shoes, Xtep has no shortage of marathon champions.
Since Xtep launched the "Chinese Race, Run for All" strategy in 2019, it has helped more than 80 Chinese athletes win nearly 400 marathon championships, and He Jie is just one of them.
Adding another champion to the Beijing Half Marathon is just a quantitative accumulation for Yu Xtep, and there is no qualitative improvement. Therefore, as China's No. 1 running shoe brand, Xtep does not need to risk its brand reputation and company's lifeline by taking risks and cheating.
For He Jie, participating in cheating is not worth the gain.
As a multiple-time marathon champion, China's marathon record holder, and China's first Asian Games men's marathon champion, He Jie has a bright future. Although
wanted to get a good result in the half marathon, this good result was just the icing on the cake for him. It was impossible for He Jie to cooperate with Xtep in cheating, to take the huge risk of ruining his career, and to complete a race in front of the public. A poor performance similar to "The Emperor's New Clothes".
In short, the returns are extremely low and the risks are extremely high. Neither He Jie nor Xtep would take risks.
Under widespread public doubts, it is impossible for the Beijing Municipal Sports Bureau, as the organizer, and the organizer of the event to falsify the investigation conclusion.
The Beijing Half Marathon is a popular sports event that Beijing attaches great importance to. It has a history of more than 60 years. It was officially upgraded to a half marathon in 2016 and a gold medal event in 2018. For a facade project, it is impossible to completely give up integrity and be manipulated by a company. Because
attaches great importance to it, it is not difficult to understand why this investigation was completed efficiently in just four or five days, and why the organizing committee punished the relevant wrongdoers so severely:
canceled the results of He Jie and the three athletes. , withdrew the bonus trophy; Xtep was disqualified as an event partner and ordered to publicly apologize to the society, and the relevant responsible persons were dealt with seriously; it even directly removed the Beijing Half Marathon hosting and operating qualification of the China Olympics Road Race and ordered it to apologize to the society Apologize publicly and deal with those responsible seriously.
Only with a heavy hammer can the gong be sounded. The Northern Half Marathon cannot accept unintentional process negligence, let alone the manipulation of "sending the champion".
"The No. 1 running shoe brother" must learn to change from a straight man to a warm man
Faced with heavy fines and public criticism, Xtep did not defend himself, but admitted his mistake on the spot and stood at attention to be beaten.
“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.We will learn from our 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. "
Xtep's sincere apology is not a fake cliché.
Looking at China, no sports brand is as closely tied to the marathon and the Chinese running industry in terms of business and interests as high as Xtep. Consistent.
Only when the Chinese marathon event is good and the Chinese running population grows, Xtep, as the leading running shoe company, can benefit greatly. If the Chinese marathon is over, Xtep will basically collapse.
It can be said that Xtep has nearly 20 years of experience. The development history of the past few years is a miniature history of Chinese marathons.
Xtep's comprehensive layout in the running field began in 2007. In 2015, Xtep raised the banner of "return to sports", and running has always been the area where Xtep has devoted the most.
In 2019, Xtep launched the "Chinese Race for All" strategy, and decided to invest an additional 5 billion in 2022 to support China's road running industry.
Data from the consulting agency Sullivan shows that China's marathon will be held in 2023. Xtep ranks first in terms of running shoe wear rate; in 2023, the footwear business, including running shoes, contributed nearly 60% of Xtep's revenue.
has worked hard to cultivate and participate in the marathon and running industry for nearly 20 years. Xtep will not fail to understand. , half of its net worth depends on China's marathon and running industry, which has been prosperous and ruined.
From this crisis, Xtep must also realize its shortcomings-the product is tough and the communication is broken.
In early 2007, When entering the running track, marathons were still niche events, and the number of runners was relatively limited. Faced with the above-mentioned niche professional groups, the core competitiveness of running shoe brands was products and technology.
At that time, Xtep relied on its professionalism and cost-effectiveness. You can gain a lot of fans through word-of-mouth. But now, the number of marathon participants is getting wider and wider. In 2023, the number of Chinese road running participants increased to an astonishing 6.0519 million; the Chinese population who regularly participate in physical exercise reached 440 million. Among them, the participation rate in running is as high as 61%.
When marathon breaks out of the niche and becomes popular, it becomes a must to eliminate the information gap and align public awareness, but Tiehanhan Xtep’s public communication ability remains in place. Stepping is like a straight man with a clumsy tongue.
What's more, promoting and popularizing marathons and running sports is originally part of Xtep's "Chinese People Race for All" strategy.
Judging from this turmoil, Xtep is not only here. There were omissions in the pacer registration process, and the marathon promotion and follow-up communication with the runner group were not done well. After the
incident, Xtep must make up for an important lesson. Learn to upgrade from a straight man with online strength and tough products to a warm man who is capable and eloquent.
The grievance of being stigmatized and the pain of being misunderstood will urge Xtep to make up for its shortcomings as soon as possible, which can be regarded as its value.
