This is undoubtedly the beautiful image of the beginning of the 2019 World Athletics Championships. Aruba [Netherlands Antilles] runner Jonathan Busby, visibly exhausted and on the verge of collapse in the last lap of a series of the 5,000m, finished largely supported by another competitor, triggering a standing ovation of the Khalifa stadium, Friday, September 27, at the World Cups in Doha (Qatar).
Braima Suncar Dabo, from Guinea Bissau, came to his rescue to support Busby for the last 250 meters after catching him and seeing that he could not finish without his help.
Great lesson in sports solidarity. Jonathan #Busby, exhausted and on the brink of collapse in his last lap of the 5000m at the # Doha2019 World Athletics Championships ended his race supported by Braima Suncar #Dabo triggering a standing ovation.
đź“ş https://t.co/c4UIHFgHPS pic.twitter.com/nPBNOhBClf
Disqualified despite everything
"I just wanted to help him finish, I think everyone would have done the same," said Dabo, a student in Portugal.
The two, the only qualified from their country for all the Championships, finished in more than 18 minutes, an anecdotal time, but under a standing ovation of the Khalifa stadium, welcoming this gesture of fair play. Despite this, Busby was disqualified after being evacuated in a wheelchair.
Nearly five minutes earlier, Ethiopian Selemon Barega won this first series (13: 24.69), while the young Norwegian prodigy Jakob Ingebrigtsen, fourth, thought he had qualified for his first world final a few days after celebrating his 19 years old.
But the two-time European champion (1,500 and 5,000m) last summer in Berlin was disqualified for setting foot on the pitch inside the track during the race. Jakob Ingebrigtsen is also involved in 1,500 m at these Worlds.