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There were heart-warming scenes on day one of the IAAF World Championships in Doha as Guinea-Bissau athlete Braima Suncar Dabo set aside competitive spirit to help an exhausted rival finish the 5,000m.
Both Dabo and Aruba’s Jonathan Busby are the only men competing in Qatar from their respective countries, with each federation allowed to send one athlete to the championships, regardless of any qualifying standard.
Busby, 33, had slowed to almost a crawl down the back straight on the last lap, lurching forward uncertainly and appearing close to collapse.
It was then that Guinea Bissau's Dabo came to the rescue, stopping to prop up his fellow racer and leading him around the final 200 metres to the finish line.
It was a scene that was reminiscent of Derek Redmond's famous hobbling finish at the 1992 Olympics, when the British 400m runner was helped over the line by his father after breaking down.
With the crowd roaring them over the line, Busby collapsed and was eventually led away in a wheelchair.
"I just wanted to help the guy finish the race," Dabo, 26, said afterwards through a translator.
"I wanted to help him cross the line. I think anyone in that situation would have done the same thing," added Dabo, a student based in Portugal.
The two ran the final part of the race with Dabo holding Busby up, and eventually finished in a little over eighteen minutes, to a huge ovation.
Both Dabo and Aruba’s Jonathan Busby are the only men competing in Qatar from their respective countries, with each federation allowed to send one athlete to the championships, regardless of any qualifying standard.
Busby, 33, had slowed to almost a crawl down the back straight on the last lap, lurching forward uncertainly and appearing close to collapse.
It was then that Guinea Bissau's Dabo came to the rescue, stopping to prop up his fellow racer and leading him around the final 200 metres to the finish line.
It was a scene that was reminiscent of Derek Redmond's famous hobbling finish at the 1992 Olympics, when the British 400m runner was helped over the line by his father after breaking down.
With the crowd roaring them over the line, Busby collapsed and was eventually led away in a wheelchair.
"I just wanted to help the guy finish the race," Dabo, 26, said afterwards through a translator.
"I wanted to help him cross the line. I think anyone in that situation would have done the same thing," added Dabo, a student based in Portugal.
The two ran the final part of the race with Dabo holding Busby up, and eventually finished in a little over eighteen minutes, to a huge ovation.
