Sports are often dirty — corrupt judges, doping, other dirty things. But this event in athletics is so beautiful that we simply cannot not tell about it!
We quote a short story about the event that took place:
Important athletics competitions were held in Navarre in December. There was a solid prize fund at stake, the strongest athletes in the world participated in the races, including Kenyan Abel Mutai, bronze medalist of the Olympic Games in London in the 3,000 meters steeplechase. In his crown race, Mutai confidently led at the tournament in Navarre. But about ten meters before the end of the race, the Kenyan runner stopped, mistakenly thinking that he had already crossed the finish line. Mutai stopped and started clapping to the fans, not understanding the hints in Spanish that the end of the race is only 10 meters away.
The Spaniard Ivan Fernandez Anaya, who ran second, overtook the Kenyan and could easily finish the race in first place. But instead of using the opponent's mistake, Anaya began to... push the Kenyan in the back and show him with his hand where the finish line is. The Spanish runner missed a sure opportunity to win, he actually led the Kenyan to the finish line and did not overtake him.
When, after the end of the race, Ivan Fernandez Anaya was asked if he did not want to win, the 24-year-old runner from Vitoria (the champion of Spain in the 5,000 meters) answered the following: "No, I really wanted to win. But even if there was a place at stake in the Spanish national team for a trip to the European Championship, I would still do the same. I didn't deserve to win — the gap was great, and I had no chance to catch up with my opponent if he hadn't made a mistake. It's more important for me to keep my dignity than to win a gold medal. You know, we all see what things sometimes happen in football, in society, in politics… People too often see the wrong patterns of behavior. I'm glad I did something different and made this gesture of honesty."
It's beautiful, isn't it?
