Chinese Half-Marathon Champion Is Disqualified—Along With Runners Who Let Him Win


视频显示，有三名非洲选手在接近终点时似乎放慢了速度，并以手势示意何杰跑到队伍最前面。调查将责任归咎于中国运动服装巨头和赛事赞助商特步。


中国有关部门正在调查中国选手何杰夺冠的相关情况。录像显示，有三名非洲选手在接近终点时似乎放慢了速度，并以手势示意何杰跑到他们前面。

最近在北京举行的半程马拉松比赛中，中国排名居前的长跑运动员何杰在主场观众面前取得了戏剧性的险胜，在最后冲刺阶段超过了三名参赛者，仅领先一步完赛。 6park.com
China’s top-ranked long-distance runner eked out a dramatic victory in a recent half-marathon in front of a home crowd in Beijing, overtaking a trio of competitors in the final stretch to finish barely a stride’s length ahead. 6park.com
何杰有志于参加巴黎奥运会，但他所取得的胜利非但没有让人欢欣鼓舞，反而在中国的体育迷中激起困惑和耻辱感，并促使官方对比赛的公正性进行调查。 6park.com
Instead of exaltation, the victory by Paris Olympics aspirant He Jie has sowed confusion and shame among sports fans in China—and prompted an official investigation into the integrity of the race. 6park.com
  
上周五，在调查结束后，赛事组织者宣布包括何杰在内的前几名选手的成绩无效。 6park.com
On Friday, after concluding the probe, the race’s organizer voided the top finishers’ results, including He’s. 6park.com
本次比赛通过视频直播，在比赛最后一刻出现的一幕引发了争议：在靠近终点线时，肯尼亚选手威利(Willy Mnangat)向何杰挥手，示意他跑在队伍的最前面。随后，威利、肯尼亚选手罗伯特(Robert Keter)和埃塞俄比亚选手德杰内(Dejene Bikla)似乎都放慢了速度，让何杰在最后时刻略微领先。 6park.com
The controversy around the race stemmed from livestreamed video footage of its striking final moments: With the finish line approaching, runner Willy Mnangat of Kenya could be seen waving at He to move to the front of the pack. Mnangat, fellow Kenyan Robert Keter and Ethiopian runner Dejene Hailu Bikila then all appeared to slow down, allowing He to inch ahead in the final moments. 6park.com
  
在如此不寻常的互动出现时，官方电视台的解说员极力打圆场。一位解说员说，他们在互相促进，然后补充说，是一种积极的促进。 6park.com
State television commentators struggled to make sense of the unusual interaction as it unfolded. “They are pushing for each other,” one said, before adding, “in a positive way.” 6park.com
北京市体育局下属的赛事组织方将上周日的离奇比赛结局归咎于中国运动服装巨头和赛事赞助商特步(Xtep)，称该公司邀请非洲选手为何杰充当配速员，但却将其报名为参赛运动员。 6park.com
The race’s organizer, which works under the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Sports, placed blame for Sunday’s bizarre finish on Chinese sports apparel giant and race sponsor Xtep, saying the company had invited the African runners to act as pacemakers for He but labeled them as competitors. 


肯尼亚选手威利和罗伯特、中国选手何杰以及埃塞俄比亚选手德杰内冲向终点线。

特步是中国体育赛事的重要赞助商，拥有索康尼(Saucony)和迈乐(Merrell)品牌在中国市场的代理权。特步还开发自己的运动鞋，何杰是其代言人。 6park.com
Xtep, which owns the rights to the Saucony and Merrell brands in China, is a prominent sponsor of Chinese sporting events. It also develops its own sneakers, which He endorses.  6park.com
 
除了成绩作废外，这四名运动员的奖金也被收回。其他方面的处罚较轻，特步被取消在本赛季内的赛事合作伙伴资格。北京半程马拉松比赛每年举办一次。 6park.com
In addition to having their results voided, the top finishers also lost their prize money. The punishments were otherwise light, with Xtep banned from partnering with the Beijing Half-Marathon for the rest of the current season. The race is a once-a-year event.  6park.com
 
特步在一份声明中就“配速员身份登记错误”表示道歉，并承诺今后将秉承公平、诚信的体育精神，为中国路跑事业做贡献。 6park.com
In a statement, Xtep apologized for the “mistake in registrations” and promised fair and honest sportsmanship in its future contributions to the sport.  6park.com
  
何杰的一名经纪人不予置评。 6park.com
An agent for He declined to comment.  6park.com
 
中国社交媒体上许多用户对特步受到的处罚之轻感到难以置信。“那么明年特步还可以赞助比赛？”一位用户在中国热门社交媒体平台微博(Weibo)上写道。 6park.com
Many commenters on Chinese social media were incredulous at the lightness of the penalties. “So Xtep would still be in the race next year?” wrote one user on the popular Chinese social-media platform Weibo.  6park.com
 
围绕4月14日比赛结果以及是否有人操纵比赛让何杰获胜的质疑，在中国引起了强烈反响。在中国，人们一方面为中国不断增强的体育实力感到自豪，另一方面又对赛事中经常出现的明目张胆的腐败现象感到难堪。这种腐败会破坏比赛。 6park.com
Questions around the result of the April 14 race—and whether it was fixed to give He the win—had reverberated in China, where pride in the country’s growing sports prowess has to contend with public embarrassment at the often blatant corruption that can mar competitions.  6park.com
  
“公信力就是这样一点一点丢掉的，”一位用户在微博上写道。 6park.com
“Bit by bit, this is how credibility is lost,” one user wrote on Weibo, echoing a popular sentiment. 6park.com
  
在中国，最严重的操纵比赛事件发生在足球领域，就连少儿足球队也参与过踢假球，其他体育赛事也出现过可疑结果。在美国，赌博是许多体育赛事舞弊现象的驱动因素，而在中国，体育赛事舞弊通常是官员或教练试图取得政绩或出于商业考虑的结果。 6park.com
The most egregious instances of match fixing in China have occurred in soccer, where even children’s teams have been involved in throwing away games, though competitions in other sports have also produced suspicious results. Unlike in the U.S., where gambling drives a lot of the cheating, sports-related shenanigans in China are typically the result of officials or coaches trying to score political points or commercial considerations. 6park.com
   
过去十年间，跑步文化在中国兴起。据此次北京半程马拉松赛事的主办方称，该赛事吸引了两万名参赛者，另有八万名报名者未中签。人们对跑步的狂热兴趣催生了一个由商业赞助商主导的充满活力、利润丰厚的赛事产业。 6park.com
Running culture has exploded in China in the past decade. The Beijing race attracted 20,000 participants, with another 80,000 registered unable to secure a spot, according to the organizer. The frenzy of interest has given rise to a vibrant and lucrative race industry that is dominated by commercial sponsors.  6park.com
  
中国本土鞋类品牌在与耐克(Nike)和阿迪达斯(Adidas)等全球品牌巨头争夺市场份额的过程中，都在投入巨资赞助本地赛事。本土公司的营销活动往往充满民族主义色彩，经常以中国选手穿着国产运动鞋实现比赛成绩的突破作为宣传主题。 6park.com
China’s shoe brands have invested heavily in sponsoring local races as they battle for market share with global brands such as Nike and Adidas. Their marketing campaigns, sprinkled with nationalist undertones, often feature Chinese runners achieving breakthroughs in homegrown sneakers.  6park.com
 
特步已成为推动中国选手追名逐利的一股力量，该公司为打破全国马拉松纪录的选手提供相当于14万美元的奖金。特步创始人丁水波已被中国田径协会授予“特邀副主席”的荣誉称号。 6park.com
Xtep has emerged as a driving force in pushing Chinese runners to pursue elite status, offering prize money equivalent to $140,000 to anyone who breaks the national marathon record. Its founder Ding Shuibo has been given the honorary title of “special vice president” at the official Chinese Athletics Association.  6park.com
 
何杰出生在中国西部的一个农村，曾在肯尼亚进行过一段时间的训练。他在去年打破了自2007年以来一直保持的中国全程马拉松纪录。今年3月，25岁的何杰在中国东部城市无锡再次打破纪录，成为第一位在2小时7分钟内跑完全程的中国马拉松运动员，中国体育部门的官方报纸曾对这一成绩进行了重点报道。 6park.com
Born in a rural village in western China, He Jie trains part time in Kenya. Last year, he broke a Chinese national marathon record that had stood since 2007. The 25-year-old athlete broke the record again in the eastern Chinese city Wuxi in March, becoming the first Chinese marathoner to finish under 2 hours and 7 minutes—an achievement highlighted by the Chinese sports authorities’ official newspaper. 


围绕比赛结果的质疑在中国引起了强烈反响。

比赛录像显示，肯尼亚选手威利上个月在无锡比赛中作为官方认可的配速员给何杰陪跑。 6park.com
Mnangat, the Kenyan runner, ran alongside He in Wuxi last month as an officially recognized pacesetter, according to the video footage of that race.  6park.com
   
威利上周对BBC表示，他和另外两名非洲选手在北京比赛中也是担任何杰的配速员，目的是帮助何杰打破全国半程马拉松纪录。威利说，他不知道为什么他们会被冠以选手身份参加这场比赛。 6park.com
Mnangat told the BBC this week that he and the other two African runners were also serving as pacesetters for He in Beijing, with the aim of helping him break the national half-marathon record. Mnangat said he didn’t know why they were entered into the race as competitors.  6park.com
 
录像显示，这些非洲选手在周日比赛一开始就陪跑在何杰身边，似乎在比赛的不同阶段鼓励何杰跑得更快。冲过终点线时，尽管距离打破中国半程马拉松纪录还差一分钟，何杰还是把墨镜扔给观众并庆祝这一时刻。 6park.com
The African runners flanked He ​​from the very beginning of the race on Sunday, seeming to encourage him at various stages to run faster, according to video footage. Dashing across the finish line, He threw his sunglasses to the audience in celebration, despite falling short of the Chinese record by a minute. 6park.com
 
甚至在比赛开始之前，人们就开始怀疑比赛的天平向何杰一方倾斜了。长跑运动员贾俄仁加(Jia'e Renjia)被视为此次比赛中除何杰之外唯一一位有实力的中国选手，他抱怨说自己的参赛资格在比赛前几天被取消了。 6park.com
Even before the race started, suspicion spread that the field was being tilted in He’s favor. Long-distance runner Jia’e Renjia, seen as the only other serious Chinese contender in the race, complained that his registration had been canceled days ahead of the competition. 6park.com
  
赛事主办方后来在一份声明中表示，贾俄仁加被拒绝参赛是因为他代言的品牌是赞助商的竞争对手，该声明中没有点名特步。 6park.com
Without naming Xtep, the race’s organizer later said in a statement that Jia’e was denied entry because he endorses a brand that was a competitor to a sponsor.  6park.com
 
在何杰夺冠后不久、但在上述调查宣布前进行的一次录音采访中，他将这次比赛描述为一次高质量的训练，有助于他为巴黎站做准备。 6park.com
In a recorded interview shortly after his win, but before the investigation was announced, He described the race as a high-quality training session that would help him prepare for Paris.  6park.com
 
“相信我们中国运动员，相信我们中国人”，他说。“可以去崇拜他们，但是请不要诋毁我们。” 6park.com
“Believe in us as Chinese athletes,” he said. “It’s OK to worship others, but do not slander us.”
  6park.com
这番话在中国社交媒体上遭到了质疑，一些人质疑他是否应代表中国参加奥运会。 6park.com
The statement met with skepticism on Chinese social media, with some questioning whether he should represent China in the Olympics.  6park.com
  
一位用户在何杰的抖音(Douyin)账号下评论道，他越线了。这位用户表示，不是终点线，而是中国公众的容忍底线。 6park.com
He crossed a line, one user wrote in a comment on the runner’s account on the short-video platform Douyin. “Not the finish line, but the red line of the Chinese public’s tolerance,” the user said.