A sporting effort

So after all my whinging about the integrity of sport going up the spout, I read something today via Facey B that gave me the pick me up I needed. Can’t believe I missed this story before Christmas, however for anyone else that also missed it, I’ll share it with you now:

“On December 2, Basque athlete Iván Fernández Anaya was competing in a cross-country race in Burlada, Navarre. He was running second, some distance behind race leader Abel Mutai – bronze medalist in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the London Olympics. As they entered the finishing straight, he saw the Kenyan runner – the certain winner of the race – mistakenly pull up about 10 meters before the finish, thinking he had already crossed the line.

Fernández Anaya quickly caught up with him, but instead of exploiting Mutai’s mistake to speed past and claim an unlikely victory, he stayed behind and, using gestures, guided the Kenyan to the line and let him cross first.”

Here’s the vid of these two champs:

I actually can’t explain how much this has cheered me up today! I’m English, my sense of fairplay runs deep and after all the stories of drug taking, match fixing, girlfriend shooting lately, all I can say is FINALLY! Sportsmanship lives.

Love Fairplay conquers all.