Ex ManU star Quinton Fortune helped to finish Marathon

Ex ManU star Quinton Fortune helped to finish Marathon



Ex-Manchester United midfielder Quinton Fortune has hailed the man that helped him get through the final mile of the London marathon.

Fortune was struggling in the home straight when fellow runner Tommy Lewis came to his aid.

Lewis then sacrificed his own personal time to help the 39-year-old former Red Devil to the finish line.



Tommy, 25, told the Coventry Telegraph that he saw Fortune struggling when he was running down the Embankment.

He said: 'I just kept saying to him "come on, we are not that far away now" but he started to struggle even more, he almost fell over so I managed to put my arm around him.



'He was mumbling about 'sub four hours' which is the time most runners aim to complete the marathon in, and I kept saying "we are almost there, we can do it."'

Fortune fell down within sight of the finish line and was carried by Lewis and a race marshal to the finish line - all while Tommy nursed his own injury.



Tommy said: 'I also kept thinking that, if I was in the same situation, I would like someone to help me too. It is all about getting to the finish line and I was determined to help him.'

But it was only after the trio crossed the finish line that Tommy realised who he'd helped.



He said: 'I have never seen anything like it, but I could hear people chanting his name and I looked at his top and realised it was him and he was running for the Manchester United foundation.'

Medics rushed to carry off Fortune before he could say thank you but he reached out to Tommy via social media.

He tweeted: 'You are an angel, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you and the other gentleman for helping over the line.'



All together it was an emotional marathon for Tommy, was running in memory of his grandmother and granddad.

Fortune started his footballing career at Atletico Madrid before moving to Manchester United in 1999 where he made 76 appearances and was part of three Premier League winning seasons.

After being released he went on to play for Bolton Wanderers and Brescia. His last professional deal was with Doncaster Rovers in 2010, where he played six games and scored one goal.