Runners praised for helping exhausted man finish marathon

Two runners have won praise for helping an exhausted competitor to complete the Boston Marathon after he collapsed before the finish line.

Aaron Beggs was first to stop, yards from the finish line, to pull Ajay Haridasse up off the ground after he fell and could not get up.

With Haridasse still struggling to stay on his feet, runner Robson De Oliveira also stopped and the pair put their arms around Haridasse to help him across the line.

Beggs is a member of North Down Athletic Club in Northern Ireland who hailed him as a "superstar" who "couldn't pass an athlete in distress".

"What a gentleman! What a phenomenal sportsman. Our Aaron Beggs," the club said in a post in social media.

The incident was filmed by several spectators who witnessed Haridasse falling shortly after the 26 mile (41.8km) mark.

The footage shows a debilitated Haridasse making several attempts to get back on his feet while onlookers shouted encouragement.

Dozens of competitors passed the struggling athlete, until Aaron Beggs, dressed in a yellow and blue North Down Athletic Club vest, stopped to provide assistance.

He put both his hands out to pull Haridasse up off the ground, but struggled to steady the exhausted runner.

Then Robson De Oliveira - who was on track to run his fastest-ever marathon - also paused his own race to help Beggs carry Haridasse over the line.

The pair's selfless actions, sacrificing their own race times, prompted cheers from the crowd who were lining the finishing straight.

Spectators filmed the incident from multiple angles and posted it on social media.

At the time of writing, one of the posts has been viewed more than 2m times on X.

North Down Athletic Club paid tribute to its very own Good Samaritan on its social channels.

"Our superstar on the finishing straight at Boston marathon to a time of 2hr44 couldn't pass an athlete in distress," the club said.

"What a gentleman! What a phenomenal sportsman. Our Aaron Beggs."

Speaking to the Boston Herald, Haridasse said: "After falling down the fourth time, I was getting ready to crawl."

He praised his rescuers, acknowledging that De Oliveira in particular had sacrificed a probable personal best in order to help him.

"If he didn't help me, that would have been his fastest race ever," Haridasse said.

Writing on Instagram, De Oliveira said he saw Haridasse collapsing in the distance close to the end but he knew he did not have "the strength to help him on my own".

"In that moment, I thought, 'God, if someone stops, I'll stop too and help him'."