'We can do this': Heartwarming moment marathon runner helps exhausted athlete over the finish line

Fiona Simpson23 April 2017

This is the heartwarming moment a London Marathon runner hauled an exhausted fellow athlete over the finish line as his “legs crumbled beneath him”.

Matthew Rees, 29, spotted his struggling peer, believed to be called David Wyeth, as the pair rounded the final stretch of The Mall.

To raucous cheers, the Swansea-based Good Samaritan put his fatigued rival’s arm around his neck and dragged him to the end of the 26.2-mile course.

The Swansea Harriers runner spoke of how he encouraged his new pal and told him: “Come on, we can do this.”

The bank worker said: "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.

Good Samaritan: Matthew Rees helps David Wyeth over the finish line (AFP/Getty Images)
Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images

"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'.

Helping hand: Matthew Rees with his medal (PA)
Jack Hardy/PA Wire

"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."

Despite the signs of extreme exhaustion, both men were on course to finish the race in less than three hours.

In Pictures | The 2017 London Marathon | 23/04/2017

1/37

The race marked Mr Rees's second marathon in a month.

He claimed lingering tiredness had slowed his initial time.

"My calf started to cramp really early on, so I just decided 'right I've just got to make it to the finish line' and so when I saw the guy on the floor it sort of brought the feelings I'd had the whole marathon to me," he said.

Kate, William and Harry kick off London Marathon 2017

1/8

"I wanted just to get to finishing line and that's all he wanted - so we could just do it together.

"We've got the exact same emotions but in different ways, he can't walk and I have just had an awful race, I just want to get to the finish line and so does he.

"This is what the marathon is about - it's about people - it's for everyone. Moments like this make it worth it. I'm just glad he's okay."

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in