Heartwarming sportsmanship displayed by Andorran steeplechase runner at 2022 European athletics championships in Munich

An inspirational act of sportsmanship highlighted the men's 3,000m steeplechase heats at the 2022 European athletics championships in Munich, Germany, on Tuesday morning (16 August).

In one of the most heart-warming scenes seen so far at the Olympiastadion, Andorra's Nahuel Carabana stopped to help two-time Danish champion Axel Vang Christensen, who injured himself hurdling a barrier.

22-year-old Carabana, who is the 2021 U23 European bronze medallist in the same event, turned on his heels when he saw his stricken competitor on the ground and tried to help him to his feet.

"I saw that the guy had a heavy hit against the barrier: I think he hurt his leg or his ankle, and he couldn't even move," Carabana told Olympics.com after the episode.

"I was about to carry on but something inside me said: 'I need to help him out and move him before the other runners return.' He couldn't move at all and they might have run over him. So while I was thinking of this, my body automatically turned back and I decided to help him," he added.

"Up to that moment I didn't even know which country he was from. I didn't know who he was and I just wanted to help him: I tried to lift him up and carry him out of the track because he was in a lot of pain."

Once Christensen was safely moved to the outside lanes, the Andorran completed his race, He finished last by more than half a minute but on his last few laps his was accompanied by the loud cheers of the crowd:

"I know that today I wasn't fully fit and wasn't my day, but to be able to help out someone is always a pleasure!," Carabana said, adding that he hadn't yet spoken with Christensen since the incident.

The Dane left the stadium on a stretcher to undergo some scans at the hospital, but they found no fracture and he believes he should be back running in a week.