Ivan fernandez anaya biography of albert

Vitoria- based athlete Iván Fernández Anaya refused to take advantage when his rival short the finishing line in a cross- country race..

Carlos Arribas / El País Madrid 19 DIC 2012 - 21:29 CET ampliar foto

Is winning all that counts?

Are you absolutely sure about that?

Two weeks ago, on December 2, Spanish athlete Iván Fernández Anaya was competing in a cross-country race in Burlada, Navarre. He was running second, some distance behind race leader Abel Mutai - bronze medalist in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the London Olympics.

As they entered the finishing straight, he saw the Kenyan runner - the certain winner of the race - mistakenly pull up about 10 meters before the finish, thinking he had already crossed the line.

Fernández Anaya quickly caught up with him, but instead of exploiting Mutai's mistake to speed past and claim an unlikely victory, he stayed behind and, using gestures, guided the Kenyan to the line and let him cross firs