London Marathon runner Matthew Rees has been hailed a hero today (April 23) for helping an exhausted athlete cross the finish line of the gruelling 26.2-mile course.
The heartwarming moment was caught by the BBC's coverage and picked up by social media users who were quick to praise Rees's actions as he put his arm around the struggling runner and helped him finish the race.
"I took the final corner thinking, 'right, it's nearly done, time to sprint', and I saw this guy and his legs just crumbled below him," Rees explained later to ITV News.
"I saw him try to stand up again and his legs just went down again, and I thought 'this is more important, getting him across the line is more important than shaving a few seconds off my time'.
"I went over to try and help him and every time he tried to get up he just fell down again and again, so I just tried to cheer him on, picked him up and said: 'Come on, we can do this'.
"He was really grateful, but he wasn't very coherent, he was just like 'I have to finish, I have to finish' and I said 'you will finish, you will get there, come on let's do this', but every time he tried to move he would just fall again so it was important to guide him."
The man he helped, named as David Wyeth, was soon taken away for medical treatment, and Rees added that he was just glad the man was alright.
"This is what the Marathon is about β it's about people β it's for everyone," he added. "Moments like this make it worth it. I'm just glad he's okay."
And that's exactly the sentiment viewers watching coverage of the marathon shared on social media as Rees's actions were noticed and shared on Twitter:
