Braima Suncar Dabo may not collect any medals at the World Athletics Championships but he will win the hearts of millions for an outstanding show of sportsmanship toward fellow competitor Jonathan Busby on Friday. The gold medal for sportsmanship went to Braima Suncar Dabo from Guinea-Bissau who stopped his own race to help a struggling competitor finish the 5000 m race.
World Athletics Championships 2019
Guinea-Bissau athlete Dabo and Busby of Aruba are the only competitors from their respective nations competing in Doha and were well out off the pace in a 5,000 meters heat won by Selemon Barega of Ethiopia.
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.
Dabo’s time of 18 minutes and 10.87 seconds was the slowest in the field by almost four minutes but was still a personal best, while Busby was officially disqualified, but their times counted for little in the context of their shared moment.
26-year old, Dabo said, “I just wanted to help the guy finish the race. I wanted to help him cross the line. I think anyone in that situation would have done the same thing. It was something normal to do, to help someone from another country, because (Busby) was representing his country as well.”
He further added that all Busby said was “thank you.”
