You can call it fair all you want but the judging process and winners are based on what people think rather than than a performance that can be scored objectively against other performances eg marathon runner times.
There’s always a chance the judges can be swayed. I’ve heard that a fair bit actually in this sport - often bigger names win/do well even though they aren’t physically the best.
Not necessarily saying that’s what happened here. Just some thoughts whilst I do anything other than go to bed