There were emotional scenes at the IAAF World Athletics Championships in Doha as Braima Suncar Dabo of Guinea-Bissau helped stricken rival Jonathan Busby of the tiny Island nation of Aruba across the line.
Both runners are the only men to represent their nations at the championships in Qatar, and put any notion of rivalry aside in a truly touching moment in their 5,000m heat at the Khalifa International Stadium on Friday.
Busby was struggling badly in the final stages of the race, and with Dabo also way out of contention, he gave up on his own time to help Dabo stagger down the home straight and finish the race.
Добрейшая история дня. Бисби из страны Аруба не мог добежать 5 километров, но тут на помощь пришел Дабо.
Максимальное уважение обоим. Первому – что не сдался. Второму – что не бросил 👏 pic.twitter.com/wewPCchgO0
— Матч ТВ (@MatchTV) September 27, 2019
The act of sportsmanship was met with huge applause from the crowd.
The heat was won by Ethiopia’s Selemon Barega in a time of 13:24.69, while Busby and Dabo clocked around 18 minutes.
The stadium in Qatar is air-conditioned, although conditions remaining stifling for the athletes as temperatures can reach up to 40C in the areas immediately outside the stadium.
Source: RT