Norwegian decathlete Sander Skotheim has been given the International Fair Play Award by World Athletics, for the unselfish support he showed to teammate and gold medallist Markus Rooth at the Paris Olympics.
The 22-year-old Skotkeim failed to clear a height in the pole vault — the eighth of the 10 decathlon disciplines — ending his chances of winning a medal.
However, rather than dropping out, which is customary after a no-height result, he remained in the competition to run with Rooth in the event's final discipline, the 1,500 metres.
Skotheim had been in third spot through seven events. Rooth went on to capture gold in a Norwegian national record score of 8,796 points.
"The Olympics was a very interesting experience for me, since I had a very good competition and then I no-heighted in the pole vault and it ruined my medal chances," said Skotheim.
"At the same time, Markus had a very good pole vault competition that put him in an excellent position to win.
"As a multi-eventer I love to compete, so despite my own disappointment I wanted to finish the decathlon, and help Markus on his way to a gold for Norway. In the 1,500m we made a plan to ensure that Markus would win the decathlon and my part was to make his race in the 1,500m as easy as possible."
Skotheim's support for Rooth was reminiscent of the camaraderie of Australian decathlon pair Cedric Dubler and Ash Moloney in the Tokyo Games.
Dubler was out of contention for a medal, but he ran the final 1,500m leg of the decathlon, roaring encouragement to Moloney, who was battling American Garrett Scantling for a spot on the podium.
Scantling finished ahead of Moloney, but the Australian finished close enough to the American to make sure he held onto third place overall, giving Australia its first-ever medal in an Olympic decathlon.
World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said he was proud that athletics continues to be an example of fair play and camaraderie.
"To rebound after a setback the way Sander did is the mark of a great athlete," Coe said. "The true test of character is in the difficult times, it's not when everything is going well, so I congratulate Sander for his sportsmanship and resilience."
The award winner was decided by a jury made up of members of World Athletics and the International Fair Play Committee (CIFP).
The Netherlands' Sifan Hassan and Botswana's Letsile Tebogo were named World Athletes of the Year last week after they both raced to multiple medals at the Paris Olympics.
Reuters/ABC
