Sport is a noble cause: the most worthy deeds of athletes who made the world cry

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

The principle of "victory at any cost" is not always fair. The willingness to give up expensive equipment to an opponent, refuse an incorrectly scored goal, or save a drowning man in the midst of a regatta is as valuable as gold medals. The fair play of football player Igor Netto, the help of a Canadian coach to a Russian skier and other noble deeds of athletes are in our selection.

Yachtsmen who saved the coach

In 2015, at the qualifying competitions, Russian yachtsmen Anastasia Guseva and Yana Stokolesova fought for the right to participate in the Olympics. The race was in full swing when the girls heard cries for help. The athletes decided to change course and went to the drowning man. The rescued man was so weak that there could be no question of continuing the race: the yacht urgently headed for the shore. The victim was taken to a Sochi hospital.

It turned out that there was a Moscow coach on the verge of death, who went to sea on his yacht. The storm threw him overboard. If not for the athletes, the man would have died. Stokolesova and Guseva were nominated for the Fair Play award, which is awarded for the noblest deeds in sports.

For such an act, a nine-year-old Croatian Hana Dragoevich was awarded a year earlier. Leading the race, she rescued a guy who fell out of the boat, who was entangled in the ropes. The regatta judges did not understand the situation and disqualified the young athlete: she had to give a sign to retire. But soon everything became clear, and Fair Play became the first international Dragoevich award.

Skis from a Canadian coach and expensive runners from a German athlete

At the Olympics in Sochi, the Russian skier Anton Gafarov was cut off by his opponent. The athlete fell and almost broke the pole and ski. After the second fall on the descent, the inventory broke completely. It seemed that the competition had come to an end for Gafarov.

But the coach of the Canadian national team came to the aid of the skier. He ran up to Gafarov and helped him to replace the ski: he gave the spare one, which was intended for the Canadians. Gafarov finished sixth, but was greeted with thunderous applause from the audience. As the coach later admitted, he did not even figure out who he helped: the main thing for him was that the athlete was in trouble.

At the same Olympics, the German Manuel Mahat decided to give the Russian Alexander Zubkov expensive bean runners. They were ordered from Switzerland by the German Bobsleigh Federation. Makhat did not pass the qualifying competitions and handed over the runners to Zubkov, who was continuing the competition. He won the race, and the noble Mahat was disqualified for a year by his federation and had to pay 5 thousand euros in fines.

Fair play of football players Igor Netto and Igor Semshov

The number of worthy deeds in football is in the hundreds: athletes play out matches with serious injuries in order not to let the team down, stop the game to help injured opponents, challenge dishonest referee decisions. The history of sports includes the actions of Miroslav Klose, Nikolai Tishchenko, Paolo di Canio. Soviet footballer Igor Netto also became one of the noblest players.

At the 1962 World Cup, there was a match between the national teams of Uruguay and the USSR. It depended on its outcome whether the USSR national team would leave the group. The score was 1: 1 when the Soviet footballers scored a goal through a hole in the net in the sidewall of the goal. The Uruguayan national team protested, but the referee awarded the goal. Then the captain of the Soviet national team Igor Netto approached the referee and showed with gestures that there was no “correct” goal. The decision was canceled, and then the USSR national team won the match anyway. But already absolutely honest.

In 2002, at the match between Torpedo and Spartak, Torpedo midfielder Semshov got a chance to score an important goal for the team. The score was 1: 1, when at the corner of the penalty area Semshov was preparing to execute a dangerous blow. But, contrary to the expectations of the coach and the stands, he sent the ball out of bounds. It turned out that the ball after the torpedo attack flew into the Spartak player, knocked him down and got to Semshov. The one, seeing the one lying down, decided not to hit the goal, but to show that the opponent needs help.

The Torpedo team eventually lost the match, but after a while Semshov went to defend the country's honor at the World Cup.

Russian hockey player deliberately "smeared" past the gate

Referee errors also occur in bandy. Russian Alexander Tyukavin, who plays for the Dynamo team, also decided not to use them. Even when it comes to winning. He admitted that at the Russian championship several times he deliberately "missed" by the gate, when the referee incorrectly appointed 12-meter.

Tyukavin said that he was afraid of condemnation from fans and other players, but both of them welcomed the athlete's honest deeds.

The camaraderie among runners

At the competitions of the World Triathlon Series, the British showed nobility. Olympic champion Alistair Brownlee, a few hundred meters before the finish line, noticed that his younger brother, who was running in front of him, was about to fall. Johnny Brownlee got heatstroke at a distance and could no longer keep pace. They wanted to take him aside, but Alistair picked up his brother and ran with him the remaining meters. At the finish line, a more resilient brother pushed Johnny and gave him the opportunity to receive a silver medal. Alistair himself took third place.

Spaniard Ivan Fernandez Anaya confidently walked to the finish line at the 2012 athletics tournament. Not far from the finish line, he caught up with Kenyan Abel Mutai, who was in the lead in the race, but lost all his strength before the cherished line. Anaya could overtake him and get the gold medal, but instead literally "pushed" the jubilant opponent to the finish line and was satisfied with the second place.

The Pierre de Coubertin Prizes for "True Sports Spirit" at the 2016 Olympics were awarded to athletes Nikki Hamblin from New Zealand and Abby D'Agostino from the USA. During the 5,000 meter race, Hamblin tripped over D'Agostino's leg, and both of them fell. The New Zealand athlete got up and was ready to continue the race, but the American could not run.

Then the girls went on foot to the finish line. It would seem that there could be no question of continuing to participate in the competition: the qualifying race was definitely lost. But both athletes were admitted to the final as an exception. However, the injured D'Agostino could not reach the distance, and Hamblin came to the finish line last.

Alexey Nemov: de Coubertin's first prize in Russian sports

At the Olympics, awards for adherence to the principles of fair play have been awarded not so long ago. The first Russian to receive the Pierre de Coubertin prize was gymnast Alexei Nemov. In 2004, at the Athens Olympics, the famous athlete received a clearly underestimated rating. Twenty minutes later, it was corrected, but the athlete still did not even become one of the winners of the Games.

The spectators began to boo the judges: the injustice was visible even to non-specialists. The competition had to be suspended. Soon an American athlete approached the projectile, but the audience did not calm down. Then Nemov himself came out to the stands and thanked for the support. Whistling and shouting at the judges did not stop. Nemov came out a second time and put his finger to his lips, showing that it is worth being quieter.

Subsequently, an official apology was brought to Nemov, some judges lost their posts, and changes were made to the assessment rules.