He Jie (runner)

He Jie (Chinese: 何杰; pinyin: Hé Jié, born 27 December 1998) is a Chinese athlete from Pingluo County.^[1] He competes in long-distance running.^[2]

He Jie

He Jie in running in the 2023 Budapest Marathon
Personal information
Born	(1998-12-27) December 27, 1998 (age 26) Pingluo County, Ningxia, China
Medal record Men's athletics Representing  China Asian Games 2023 Hangzhou Marathon

In 2023, he won the gold medal in the men's marathon at the postponed Asian Games.^[3] He is the current Chinese record holder in the marathon with a time of 2:06:57 set in Wuxi on 24 March 2024.^[4]

2024 Beijing Half Marathon win controversy

On 14 April 2024, he won the Beijing Half Marathon. His finish was controversial as three African runners ahead of him - Willy Mnangat (Kenyan), Robert Keter (Kenyan), and Dejene Hailu Bikila (Ethiopian) - appeared to let him win.^[5] Mnangat later said that he was entered as a pacemaker for He, not unusual in road races, and that he was never intended to be an actual competitor in the race. The African runners were not listed as pacemakers by the race organizers, but Mnangat said, "My agent from Kenya told me, when I was going to get the visa, that I am going to China to help the Chinese break the national record".^[6]

Pacemakers are used in various World Athletics Label Road Races, including the Beijing Half Marathon, and their use is permitted by World Athletics.^[7][8][9]

On 19 April 2024, He and the three pacemakers of Ethiopian and Kenyan nationalities who allegedly aided his final championship were disqualified by the committee of the 2024 Beijing Half Marathon with their trophies revoked.^[10][11]

International competition

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
Representing  China
2022	Berlin Marathon	Berlin, Germany	16th	Marathon	2:11:12
	Beijing Marathon	Beijing, China	3rd	Marathon	2:21:26
2023	Wuxi Marathon	Wuxi, China	2nd	Marathon	2:07:30
	Wuhan Marathon	Wuhan, China	1st	Marathon	2:12:35
	Liupanshui Marathon	Liupanshui, China	3rd	Marathon	2:15:40
	World Championships	Budapest, Hungary	44th	Marathon	2:19:48
	Asian Games	Hangzhou, China	1st	Marathon	2:13:02
2024	Xiamen Marathon	Xiamen, China	10th	Marathon	2:14:17
	Wuxi Marathon	Wuxi, China	4th	Marathon	2:06:57
	Olympic Games	Paris, France	67th	Marathon	2:22:31

References

1. Tayir, Hassan; McNicol, Andrew (2024-04-15). "Chinese runner's win invites suspicion after rivals appear to step aside". CNN. Retrieved 2024-04-16.
2. "Beijing half marathon hit by controversy as China's He Jie allowed to win". The Guardian. 2024-04-16. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-04-16.
3. Goh, ZK (4 October 2023). "Asian Games 2023: PR China's He Jie, Bahrain's Eunice Chumba win marathon races to close athletics events". Olympics. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
4. He Jie at World Athletics
5. Andrew McNicol (2024-04-15). "Chinese runner's win invites suspicion after rivals appear to step aside". CNN. Retrieved 2024-04-16.
6. Hamer, Lars (2024-04-16). "Beijing Half Marathon runner insists he was hired as pacer, agent denies any role". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2024-04-16.
7. "LABEL ROAD RACES REGULATIONS". World Athletics. 28 February 2024. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
8. "Completely off pace". The Guardian.
9. "Do pacemakers have a place in athletics?". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2009-05-04.
10. "北京半马何杰等4人被取消成绩 收回奖杯、奖牌及奖金 - RTHK". news.rthk.hk (in Chinese (China)). Retrieved 2024-04-19.
11. "Beijing half marathon winner thrown out after trio slowed to let him win". The Guardian. Associated Press. 19 April 2024. Retrieved 19 April 2024.

External links

• He Jie at World Athletics