Welcome to Spotlight. I’m Liz Waid.
And I’m Adam Navis.
Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting.
It is easier for people to understand - no matter where in the world they live.
On December 2 2012, two men were finishing a running race.
The race was in the Navarre community of Spain.
One of these runners was Abel Mutai from Kenya.
Mutai is a famous long distance runner.
He had won an Olympic medal.
During the race in Navarre, Mutai was winning.
He was going to be the first to cross the finish line. But he made a mistake.
He thought that the race was over. He stopped running.
But he was wrong. He still had ten more metres to go to finish the race.
Then an amazing thing happened.
The runner behind him slowed down.
He showed Mutai that he had to finish.
Mutai was surprised, but he started again.
He kept running until he had crossed the finish line.
With help from another man he still won the race!
That other man was a runner named Ivan Fernandez Anaya.
Today’s Spotlight is on Anaya and the value of honest behaviour in sports.
Basketball, football, cycling and tennis.
These sports are all very different.
But they all have one thing in common.
The goal is to be the winner!
People who play sports try to be the fastest or the strongest.
And when they are able to do this, they win prizes.
The prize may be a round medal to hang around the neck.
Sometimes the prize is money.
People work very hard to make their bodies and minds strong.
Sometimes people even hurt themselves trying to win.
Or they hurt other people.
People have even broken the law to win.
For example, some people sometimes take illegal drugs such as steroids.
These drugs make people stronger but they are not legal in sports competitions.
It is normal to hear about sports players who will do anything to win.
So everyone was very surprised when they heard about Ivan Fernandez Anaya.
They were amazed that he helped another runner instead of winning himself.
Ivan Fernandez Anaya is a young runner from the Basque region of Spain.
He could have been the winner of the race in Navarre.
But he chose not to be.
He talked to Public Radio International’s program The World.
He explained what happened:
“Mutai slowed down and started waving to the people watching the race.
He thought he had already crossed the finish line.
As I came up, people were cheering and urging him on.
But he could not understand them.
So I moved him and guided him forward across the real finish line.”
People asked Anaya why he would do this.
They wondered why he did not pass Mutai and win the race.
Anaya told the Spanish newspaper El Pais:
“I did not deserve to win it. I did what I had to do.
He was the true winner. He was so far in front of me.
I could not have passed him if he had not made a mistake.
As soon as I saw he was stopping, I knew I was not going to pass him."
Someone put the video of this race on YouTube.
Soon, people all around the world watched the video.
They congratulated Anaya on his sportsmanship.
This is when a person playing sports is honest and honourable.
Anaya showed grace and fairness with his behaviour.
Anaya told El Pais:
"I think that I have earned more honour because I helped Mutai.
And that is very important.
Today, with the way things are in football, in society, in politics - it seems anything goes.
So people welcome an action of honesty."
Anaya even won an award for sportsmanship.
ICSS, the International Centre for Sport Security, is a not-for-profit organization.
They help make major sporting events safer.
People from around the world came to work together for sport security, safety and honest behaviour.
They hope to encourage sportsmanship.
One of the ways they do this is by giving a “Save the Dream” award.
This award is to encourage people to do positive things that build character and good relationship.
In 2013 the ICSS gave the Save the Dream award to Ivan Fernandez Anaya.
ICSS President Mohamed Hanzab said the Save the Dream award
was designed so that people will discuss good values in sports.
They want to build positive, character-building values in sport.
In a speech at the conference Hanzab said:
“This programme will hopefully become a powerful instrument
for the next generation of athletes and sports stars around the world.
I would like to congratulate Ivan Fernandez Anaya on outstanding sportsmanship.
He is a very worthy person to get the first Save the Dream Award.
He is a role model to young athletes around the world.”
But Anaya says he did not let Mutai win the race for people to praise him.
He was not expecting to get an award.
The Gulf Times reports his feelings when he found out about the Save the Dream award:
“I was totally surprised.
What I did at the race was nothing great as far as I was concerned.
I just did the right thing.
Now here I am being honoured by people who did not even witness the race.
I am totally humbled.”
But there is one person who is not sure that Anaya made the right choice.
Martin Fiz used to be a runner for Spain.
Now he is Anaya’s coach.
He trains and teaches Anaya to be a better runner.
Fiz has a different way of seeing the race in Navarre.
He told El Pais:
“It was a very good action of honesty.
An action that I myself would not have made.
I would have taken advantage of it to win.
This has made Anaya a better person but not a better athlete.
He has wasted a chance.
Winning always makes you more of an athlete.
You have to go out to win.”
This is a question many people struggle with:
What is more important, winning or showing sportsmanship?
What do you think?
You can share your stories about sportsmanship on the script page for this program.
The writer of this program was Rena Dam.
The producer was Mark Drenth.
The voices you heard were from the United States.
All quotes were adapted for this program and voiced by Spotlight.
You can listen to this program again, and read it,
on the internet at www.radioenglish.net.
This program is called ‘The Value of Sportsmanship.’
You can also leave your comments on our website.
Or you can email us at radio@radioenglish.net.
You can also find us on Facebook - just search for spotlightradio.
We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye.