At the Tokyo Athletics World Cup, the Belgian Tim Van de Velde has given up on every personal ambition to make a gesture of great sportiness. During the third battery of the 3000 hedges, after being involved in a fall on the Riviera, the athlete was in the rear. A few meters from the finish, noticed the difficulties of the Colombian Carlos San Martin, who struggled to overcome the last obstacle, chose to go back and offer him his shoulder.
The two have thus concluded the race together, the last but protagonists of an exemplary moment. The fate of Lamecha Girma, the world record holder of the specialty, also fell but then capable of recovering and qualifying, is different. For Van de Velde and San Martin, however, no progress on duty, but the certainty of having given the public a lesson on the true meaning of sport.