Not many people will know who Iván Fernández Anaya is, but he’s a Spanish runner with a bright future ahead of him, and our Hero of the Week.
Athletics is a field that’s seen its fair share of controversy, just like cycling lately, and there’s always a suspicion about runners breaking records and setting new personal bests in the back of everyone’s mind. Our Hero fo the Week this week, Iván Fernández Anaya is different though, someone that clearly values sportsmanship more than the gold medal.
This brilliant act of sportsmanship took place at a cross country race in Navarra, near Pamplona in Spain. In case you’re not too familiar with it, Pamplona is the town where they have the running of the bulls and the tomato throwing festivals every year.
As the end of the race approaches, which has been a brutal slog in the cold for both these two athletes, Fernández Anaya rounds the final corner to see both the race leader and the finish line in sight, but for some reason Abel Mutai, in pole position, has stopped running.
The Spaniard eventually realises that Mutai thinks he’s crossed the line already, and instead of taking advantage and sprinting past him, he taps the Kenyan on the shoulder and points out that he hasn’t crossed the line yet, a fantastic act of sportsmanship.
Here’s a video of the great moment, and if you follow it through to the end, you’ll see that Mutai turns to shake his hand as soon as they finish the race.
Speaking to Spanish paper El País, Fernanández Anaya said “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.”
His own coach, former European and World marathon champion Martín Fiz admitted that it was a fantastic gesture, and that even he would have taken advantage to win the race.
As he’s close to entering the Spanish cross country team, Fernández Anaya might have cost himself an important step in his running career with this moment of fairness, but he wasn’t worried by it, saying: “I also think that I have earned more of a name having done what I did than if I had won. And that is very important, because today, with the way things are in all circles, in soccer, in society, in politics, where it seems anything goes, a gesture of honesty goes down well”. We couldn’t agree more.
If you too want to become a hero, you can head over to lynxapollo.com to prove your mettle and see if you can become the first Irishman in space.
Thanks to Elpais.com for the picture.
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ podcast – listen to the latest episode now!
