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Nearly three thousand posts had a photo of two athletes embracing each other. The photo is attached to the story of Spanish sprinter Ivan Fernandez, who refused to outperform Kenyan Abel Mutai during the competition. The athletes’ story is true, but the picture doesn’t show them. The photo actually shows Britain’s Mo Farah and American Galen Robb, who won gold and silver in the 10,000m at the 2012 London Olympics.
Kenyan runner Abel Mutai was a few meters from the finish line, but he made a mistake and stopped, thinking he had finished the race. The Spaniard, Ivan Fernandez, was right behind him, and after realizing what was happening, he started shouting for the Kenyan to run. Mutai did not speak and did not understand Spanish. (…]Fernandez pushed him to victory ”- we read in the post published on July 30, 2021, which Profit 2.7 thousand. Involved.
We learned from the post that Fernandez allowed his opponent to win. We also learn from the content about the noble behavior of the Spaniard, who, when answering the question of why he allowed someone else to win the race, replied: “But what is the merit of my victory? What would the honor of this medal be? What would my mother think about this?”
Screenshot from Facebook taken on August 3, 2021Similar content was also shared on EnglishAnd FrenchPortuguese SpanishAnd Italian I German.
Publications gained popularity with the start of the Tokyo Olympics 23 July 2021.
The shared story is half true. Nowhere did AFP journalists find any confirmation that Evan Fernandez spoke in an interview with any journalist about his mother or about “a dream in which we push ourselves and others to win.”
Olympians
The photo shows two completely different people. These are two sprinters who celebrated first and second places in the men’s 10,000m at the 2012 London Olympics.
Thanks to the reverse image search function using the TinEye tool (Find out more in our video), we were able to find the original image in the sports image database on the site “sports photos“.
Screenshot from the “Sports Photo” page taken on August 3, 2021As shown in the photo description, a four-time Olympic champion appears Muhammad Farha of Great Britain and multiple US record holder in the 10,000 metres. Galina Ropa. Farah won the medal, then Rob won the medal.
A similar image can also be found on the website “Getty ImagesWe learned that the photo was taken on August 4, 2012 by the photographer Michaela Stella During the Olympic Games in London.
Agence France-Presse also filmed their victory.
(AFP / Olivier Morin)
Britain’s Mo Farah celebrates defeating Galen Robb in the men’s 10,000m at the 2012 London Olympics (AFP/Olivier Morin)Only Galen Robb qualified for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
A noble gesture from a Spanish athlete
The exactly mentioned story happened on December 2, 2012, at the Burlada Cross Country Race in Navarra, Spain. During the competition, Kenyan jockey Abel Mutai, who was on the verge of winning, was convinced he had won as he approached the finish line. In fact, the finish line was about 10 meters away. The Spaniard, Ivan Fernandez, instead of passing him, showed his opponent the right point and helped his opponent win the competition.
A video showing this moment can be seen on YouTube.
In December 2020, Ivan Fernandez also shared a photo from Spain.
However, AFP journalists did not find any interview with a journalist in which Evan Fernandez was supposed to mention his mother or “a dream in which we push ourselves and others to win.” In an interview with a Spanish daily newspaper The athlete said, “El Pais.”: (Abdul Mutee) was a real winner. (…]As soon as I saw that he had stopped, I knew I would not pass him (…) It is really important, because nowadays, whether in sports or politics, where everything is allowed, a gesture of honesty is very useful.”
Request: The story of the noble behavior of Evan Fernandez is true, but the photo shows other athletes. These are Mohamed Farah and Galen Roba, who took the podium at the 2012 London Olympics.
