Kenyan Athlete Willy Mnangat has responded as to why he was seen letting a Chinese runner win during the Beijing half marathon.
After massive global outrage, Willy Mnangat has responded to allegations sharing that they were there to help the Chinese runner.
Shedding light on his involvement in the race, Mnangat clarified that he, along with two others, was hired as a pacesetter.
Additionally to aiding the Chinese runner He Jie, their goal was to help Jie break the national record.
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Willy Mnangat’s role in the Beijing marathon
Their role, Mnangat explained, could have been more competitive; instead, they were tasked with setting the pace for Jie.
However, despite their best efforts, Jie fell short of the target, failing to break the national record.
Mnangat expressed confusion regarding the placement of his name on the bib instead of being identified as a pacemaker, stating.
“I don’t know why they put my name on my bib/chest number instead of labeling it as a pacemaker,” Mnangat stated.
Moreover, he emphasized that his decision to allow Jie to win stemmed from their friendship and previous collaborations in events like the Wuxi Marathon.
However, despite Jie’s victory with a time of 1:03.44, he missed breaking the record by one minute and 11 seconds.
In the race results, Mnangat, along with fellow Kenyan athletes Keter and Hailu, tied for second place.
The response from the other two accused athletes to the allegations is still pending.
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Why use Pacesetters like Mnangat?
Pacesetters are used during marathons and as the name suggests, they help set a consistent pace for the star athlete.
The role of these pacesetters varies depending on factors such as logistics, Marathon culture, and preferences of both parties.
Pacesetters, also known as rabbits are mostly used by elite athletes to set the pace, allowing them to focus solely on their performance.
Additionally, Pacesetters often sacrifice their race to benefit the elite runner as witnessed in the 2024 Biejing half marathon.
However, some marathons have banned the use of rabbits by elite athletes stating that pacemakers make a marathon less interesting.
For example, the Boston Marathon, New York City, and Chicago marathons have all banned rabbits.
With the wave of reactions directed at the Beijing marathon in what some termed an embarrassing win, it is unclear whether the marathon will ban rabbits entirely.
