Athlete’s sportsmanship another example of triathlon’s history of honourable performances

Athletes around the world have been taken by the sportsmanship shown by Spanish triathlete Diego Méntriga on the weekend, when he waited for Great Britain’s James Teagle who went the wrong way at the Santander Triathlon.

“When Spanish triathlete Diego Méntriga noticed that British triathlete James Teagle went the wrong way before finish line of Santander Triathlon, Mentriga waited for him so he could take what he says is his deserved 3rd place,” GoodNewsCorrespondent (@GoodNewsCorres1) posted on Twitter.

“He was in front of me the whole time,” Méntriga said. “He deserved it.”

For Méntriga, the move was a no-brainer:

Triathletes are hardly strangers to athletes being good sports. Here are a few other examples:

Alistair Brownlee helps brother Jonathon to the line in Cozumel

It remains one of the most dramatic finishes we’ve ever seen in triathlon. At the 2016 World Triathlon Series Grand Final in Cozumel, Mexico, Jonathan Brownlee needed to win the race and Mario Mola needed to finish fifth for the younger Brownlee to take the world title. Just a few weeks before, the Brownlee’s had taken the gold and silver medals at the Olympics in Rio.

Jonathan Brownlee appeared to have the race in hand, with Alistair waiting for the final stretch to sprint by Henri Schoeman to take the silver when things went dreadfully awry. With less than a half kilometer to go, Jonathan started to slow. Schoeman started to push in hopes of catching the Brit, with Alistair marking his move. Then, with 200 meters to go, Jonathan collapsed. Alistair stopped to help him up, leaving Schoeman to run in for the win. Alistair helped his brother along and got him across the line in second, then followed to take third.

Richard Murray waits at the line for Mario Mola

The second part of the sportsmanship that day came when South African Richard Murray, one of Mario Mola’s training partners, suddenly pulled up short of the line, wanting to make sure he didn’t take the spot that would guarantee his training partner the world title. Once he learned his countryman had taken the day, he jumped across the line with Mola, celebrating the Spaniards world title.

Rebekah Keat gives Chrissie Wellington a CO2 cartridge

In 2008, with a five-minute lead on the rest of the women’s field at the Ironman World Championship, defending women’s champion Chrissie Wellington got a flat. She tried to fix her tire, but couldn’t get the tire inflated with the cartridges she had with her. Stuck on the side of the road, Australia’s Rebekah Keat stopped, and gave one of her CO2 cartridges off to the Brit. Wellington would get the tire filled up and would go on to win the race by almost 15 minutes.

“Without it, I wouldn’t have finished or would have finished way back with the age-groupers,” Wellington said after the race, expressing her thanks to Keat.

Carlos Moleda waits for David Bailey at Ironman

At the Ironman World Championship in 2000, handcycle racers Carlos Moleda and David Bailey raced neck and neck through virtually the entire race. Towards the end of the bike, though, at the sharp corner in town known as the “hot corner,” Bailey lost control of his cycle and fell. Rather than take off, Moleda waited for Bailey to get back on his cycle, then the two resumed the race. In the end Bailey would take the win.