post 49. john landy

looking at the distance running clip reminded me of a clip i saw before (or did i only read about it and made it up in my head? pretty sure i saw it though).

it was an old clip of some big race ( the Australian mile championship at Olympic Park in March, 1956), black and white video of men running. suddenly, one man fell. the rest had no choice but to run around or jump over the fallen runner. suddenly, one of the lead runners stopped, turned back and ran back to extend a helping hand.

that man is john landy. what he did was amazing is because he was one of the favourites to win the race and for him to turn back and help a fallen competitor, while the rest of the field charged on ahead, well, that was stupid. stupid, chivalarous and beautiful.

amazingly, he did went on to chase the group and win the race; although he did sacrifice his chance of breaking the world record, his act of spontaneous sportsmanship has yet to be forgotten.

ps. would be grateful if someone can point me in the direction of the clip ( or did i really make it up in my head?)