London Marathon runner aided over line thanks his helper

London Marathon runner aided over line thanks his helper



A London Marathon runner has praised a fellow competitor who helped him cross the finish line in the iconic moment of this year's event.

David Wyeth began struggling around 300 metres from the end of the 26-mile race as his legs buckled underneath him.

Swansea Harriers runner Matthew Rees realised Mr Wyeth would not be able to finish and picked him up before helping him complete the final stretch.



Images of Mr Rees, 29, and a race official helping Mr Wyeth cross the finish line have since been watched around the world via social media.

Mr Wyeth, who runs for Chorlton Runners, said he'd felt his body 'going into shutdown'.

'We were just turning the corner to see the finish and my legs went beneath me,' he told Good Morning Britain.



'Matthew was talking in my ear trying to get me off the ground and encouraging me on.

'He was saying, "We're going to do this together, let me get you there". What was going through my mind was "please don't sacrifice your race, go on".'

'But I wouldn't have got there without him. I can't say how grateful I am to Matthew.'



Mr Rees said: 'It just seemed the natural thing to do to go over and help someone in need.

'They've come 26 miles and the finish is just there. So I went over and reassured him we'd get to the end and we were going to do it together.'

The pair finished the race in 2 hours 52 minutes and 26 seconds, putting them in the top 1,000 runners.

As a result of Mr Rees's  act of sportsmanship, Mr Wyeth'sJustGiving fundraising page, which had reached £1,600 pre-race, now stands at more than £8,000.

He is fundraising of behalf of the Isabel Hospice, Welwyn Garden City, and in memory of his uncle, Alan, who died last year.



The pair's moment was reminiscent of when Jonny Brownlee carried his brother Alistair over the finishing line in the World Triathlon Series.

Jonny was leading comfortably heading into the final kilometre of the 10km run but then the heat began to take its toll and he started to weave across the course.

He stopped at the side of the road but Alistair, who was in third, put his arm round his brother and carried him across the line.