Steeplechaser who turned back to help a rival wins Fair Play Award

During the 3000m steeplechase heats at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo in September 2025, Belgian runner Tim Van de Velde produced one of the most talked-about moments of the meet, and it had nothing to do with winning. Already out of contention for the final after his own setbacks, Van de Velde was nearing the finish when he glanced over his shoulder and saw Colombia's Carlos San Martin struggling, lifting an injured leg gingerly over the final barrier.

Without hesitation, Van de Velde jogged back. The two athletes put their arms around each other and crossed the line together, with San Martin finishing just ahead in 9:02.20 to Van de Velde's 9:02.21. "I saw him stumbling and thought, why not?" the Belgian said afterwards. He later reflected that he never had to think twice during the race about turning back to support his rival.

“Already out of contention for the final after his own setbacks, Van de Velde was nearing the finish when he glanced over his shoulder and saw Colombia's Carlos San Martin struggling, lifting an injured leg gingerly over the final barrier.”

In November 2025, that act of compassion was formally recognised when Van de Velde was named winner of the International Fair Play Award, the 12th such honour distributed since the International Fair Play Committee began collaborating with World Athletics in 2003. "This award is something bigger than just sports or performance," Van de Velde said. "It focuses on the human side."

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe praised the gesture, noting that true success comes not just from performance but from integrity and respect. In an era when results are measured in hundredths of a second, the image of two exhausted competitors crossing the line arm in arm offered a reminder of what sport can mean at its best, where the bonds between rivals can matter as much as the times on the clock.