Sportsmanship prevails as two runners help each other cross the line

Unheralded 5,000-metre runners Braima Suncar Dabo and shattered rival Jonathan Busby drew the biggest cheer of the World Championships on Friday after a dramatic finish to their race marked by a gesture of sportsmanship.

A lap for pride

Both Dabo and Busby had already been lapped and were competing only for pride when their final lap drama unfolded at Doha's Khalifa Stadium. Aruba's Busby, 33, had slowed to almost a crawl down the back straight on the last lap, lurching forward uncertainly and appearing close to collapse. It was then that Guinea Bissau's Dabo came to Busby's rescue, stopping to prop up his fellow racer and leading him around the final 200 metres to the finish line. With the crowd roaring them on, Busby collapsed after crossing the line and was eventually taken away in a wheelchair."I just wanted to help the guy finish the race," Dabo, 26, said afterwards through a translator.

READ: Sports Ministry gives 7.87 crores to 2625 Khelo India athletes

"I wanted to help him cross the line. I think anyone in that situation would hve done the same thing," added Dabo, who is a student in Portugal.

Despite the finish - nearly five minutes behind heat winner Selemon Barega of Ethiopia - Dabo's time of 18min 10.87sec was still a personal best. But there was a sting in the sporting tail for Busby, who was disqualified.

Watch the video of this unmissable gesture here.

READ: Kashyap loses to Momota in semifinals, crashes out of Korea Open

Race walks to go ahead despite heat: IAAF

World championships organisers vowed to press ahead with the 50-kilometre walk events later Saturday following a brutal women's marathon in sweltering conditions which saw dozens of runners fail to finish.

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) said in a statement that the men's and women's 50km events due to get underway at 11.30 pm (2030 GMT) local time would go ahead as planned. The IAAF said Friday's marathon, where 28 of 68 starters failed to finish a race held in sauna-like weather, had recorded no cases of heatstroke. Despite the high number of competitors that failed to finish, the IAAF said the completion rate was comparable to women's races at Tokyo in 1991 and Moscow in 2013. A total of 30 athletes visited the medical centre set up at the marathon venue as a precaution. The IAAF said "a small number" were kept under observation and one athlete was referred to the hospital for observation but later released. The IAAF's decision to stage the championships in Doha has come under criticism from athletes, particularly those in endurance running and walking events, which are being staged outside. French decathlon star Kevin Mayer joined the chorus of disapproval on Saturday, describing the decision to stage the championships in Doha as a "catastrophe." 

"Clearly by organising the championship here, they didn't put the athletes first, they've mostly put them in jeopardy," said Mayer, the world record holder.

"Even if people aren't saying it out loud, it's obvious it's a catastrophe," he said."There is no one in the stadium, the heat is not at all adapted, yesterday we saw about 30 people drop out of the marathon, it's sad." 

 READ: PKL 2019: Desperate Puneri Paltan face Dabang Delhi K.C. at Panchkula

READ: Lakers start the season with LeBron, AD already sharing a bond