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I guess by now most would have seen the elder of the Brownlee brothers help his brother over the line in the triathlon after the younger brother got heatstroke and cocked up his finish.
All very commendable and I'm sure most (hopefully all) would do it for one of their own but it got me thinking what I would do in a similar position as to the bloke who went on to win the race.
Basically the younger brother had the race won and could easily have jogged the final few meters to the line but the heat took its toll on him and he clearly confused exactly where the finish line was and stopped and almost collapsed at the point where he thought it was - about 50 meters or so from the actual finish line.
The elder brother and the eventual winner where a distance behind and had settled for second and third places.
When they got into the home straight it was clear that the younger brother was in trouble, just a few meters from his deserved win.
I'd like to think I would have stopped to help the younger Brownlee - in fact I'm sure I would - I'd have known in my heart I had been fairly beaten in the race - but the bloke (a South African) legged it to the line leaving his fellow competitor in some trouble and claimed the win.
What a hollow victory it is too - I'm sure people will now remember him as the one who ran passed the stricken Brownlee and left him for dead, rather than the glorious winner of the race - at least that is how I will remember him.
However in the heat of the contest I guess we don't always make the most thought out decisions and some folk believe in winning at all costs - indeed it was Brownlee's fault for overexerting himself and that wasn't the South African's problem - he run I guess a better race in that sense.
What would you have done - played to the whistle and won the race, or be like me the good Samaritan who see's the man first and the victory last?
There are no right and wrong answers to this - indeed some even tried to get the younger Brownlee disqualified for receiving help!
All very commendable and I'm sure most (hopefully all) would do it for one of their own but it got me thinking what I would do in a similar position as to the bloke who went on to win the race.
Basically the younger brother had the race won and could easily have jogged the final few meters to the line but the heat took its toll on him and he clearly confused exactly where the finish line was and stopped and almost collapsed at the point where he thought it was - about 50 meters or so from the actual finish line.
The elder brother and the eventual winner where a distance behind and had settled for second and third places.
When they got into the home straight it was clear that the younger brother was in trouble, just a few meters from his deserved win.
I'd like to think I would have stopped to help the younger Brownlee - in fact I'm sure I would - I'd have known in my heart I had been fairly beaten in the race - but the bloke (a South African) legged it to the line leaving his fellow competitor in some trouble and claimed the win.
What a hollow victory it is too - I'm sure people will now remember him as the one who ran passed the stricken Brownlee and left him for dead, rather than the glorious winner of the race - at least that is how I will remember him.
However in the heat of the contest I guess we don't always make the most thought out decisions and some folk believe in winning at all costs - indeed it was Brownlee's fault for overexerting himself and that wasn't the South African's problem - he run I guess a better race in that sense.
What would you have done - played to the whistle and won the race, or be like me the good Samaritan who see's the man first and the victory last?
There are no right and wrong answers to this - indeed some even tried to get the younger Brownlee disqualified for receiving help!
