Spanish Runner Shows Tremendous Personal Character Towards Competitor

KEEP RUNNING, He Yelled!!!

Kenyan runner, Abel Mutai was just a few meters from the finish line but got confused by the signage and stopped, thinking he had finished the race. A Spanish runner, Ivan Fernandez, running behind him realized what was happening with his fellow competitor and started yelling at the Kenyan, “Keep running! Keep running!”. Abel Mutai did not know Spanish and did not understand it. In the middle of a race between world class competitors, Ivan Fernandez had encouraged Abel Mutai to claim the prestigious victory.

And he didn’t think much of it, either. Anaya told El Pais: “I didn’t deserve to win it. I did what I had to do. He was the rightful winner. He created a gap that I couldn’t have closed if he hadn’t made a mistake. As soon as I saw he was stopping, I knew I wasn’t going to pass him.”

When a journalist asked Ivan why he did that. Ivan replied, ′′ My dream is that one day we can have a kind of community life in which we push each other and help each other to win.”

The journalist pressed, ′′ But why did you let the Kenyan win?”

Ivan replied, ′′ I didn’t let him win, he was already going to win. The race was his.”

The journalist insisted, ′′ But you could have won!”

Ivan looked at him and replied, ′′ But what would be the merit of my victory? What would be the honor in that medal? What would my mother think of that?”

Values are passed down from generation to generation. What values do we teach our children? Let’s not teach our children the wrong ways and means to win. Instead let’s pass on the beauty and humanity of a offering a helping hand.