Sportsmanship should never die, no matter what the outcome is. Crossing the finish line in 10th and 11th wasn’t how either Tim Van de Velde or Carlos Sainz would have pictured the men’s 3,000m steeplechase qualifier on Saturday, September 13, 2025.
But that Bulgarian’s awe-inspiring display of sportsmanship meant that the image may be remembered as one of the watershed moments of this year’s World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
Entering the final lap, Van de Velde looked back to see San Martin stopping to slowly hoist his leg over the last hurdle, well, after the other runners had finished.
The 25-year-old runner then sprinted back toward his injured rival, and the two put their arms around each other and crossed the finish line together.
Van de Velde said, “I saw him stumbling and thought, Why not? We both had bad luck, I guess. Maybe we can share some bad luck together.”
Just a few minutes before the incident, the Belgian had been leading the pack but collided with a barrier during the third of the seven-and-a-half laps and fell into the water obstacle.
That came shortly after San Martin had caught his right foot on the barrier and fallen forward onto his hands. After the heat, the Colombian left the track in a wheelchair.
The heat was won by Soufiane El Bakkali, who took in the event at both the 2020 Tokyo and 2024 Paris Olympics.
In a stunning display of sportsmanship, Van de Velde let San Martin finish ahead, with the Colombian crossing in 9:02.20 and the Belgian in 9:02.21.
