Tokyo-Soplechaser Tim Van De Velde looked behind him and creepped a fellow contestant on a 3,000 meter journey on a final barrier, which became very wrong for both.
Belgium expected for a top finish was already crushed long, he turned around, put one hand around a stumbling Carlos San Martin and helped to lame to finish.
On Saturday, the show of sportsmanship between 10th and 11th -ranked finishers may be the main attraction of the busy opening night in the Track and Field World Championship in the routine qualifying race, even when five gold medals were handed over when five gold medals were handed over.
“I saw him stumbling and thought, ‘Why not?” “Van de Welde said.” We both had bad luck, I think. Perhaps we can share some bad luck together. “
The van de welde was running in front as the runners approached the water pit to start the third of the 7½-lap race, asking the runners to the five 3-foot high obstacles placed around the track, one of which fronts the 2-foot-deep water barrier.
He collided with the barrier and fell inside, and until he woke up, his expectations were crushed. He asked the rest of the way to say that he was finished.
The 25 -year -old Van D Welde is not a stranger for such slipups. A gold medalist at the 2016 European Youth Championship, he broke his collarbone after a decline in the European Championship last year. In 2022, Eugene in the world in Oregon, he fell into water and injured his ankle.
“I know what you like to feel helpless on the track,” he said.
As San Martin does. Colombians were helped to remove from the track in wheelchair and did not come through the interview area.
Van de Welde said that it will take time to fulfill this latest disappointment. The good news is that there is a great opportunity that he will be remembered for something else where he is finished.
“We are both contestants. We both work very hard,” said van de Welde. “Of course, the main goal was the final and both of us had bad luck, so I did so.”
