Ethiopian athlete Diribe Welteji won the 3,000m steeplechase race in dramatic fashion during the Meeting de l’Eure event staged in France on Saturday, February 4.
The 2022 Kip Keino Classic gold medalist was confused at the final stages of the race.
Thinking that she had won, Welteji, who had opened a big gap between her and the rest of the competitors, stopped and fell to the ground.
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However, due to the intervention from an athlete standing near the finishing line, the 20-year-old's efforts did not went to waste.
Welteji quickly rose up and sprinted in the remaining lap as the excited crowd cheered her on.
She produced one of the fastest laps and eventually won the race in 8:33.44 - the best time this year over the distance.
Her compatriot Sembo Almayew settled for a second-place finish after crossing the finishing line in 8:35.04.
The final podium-place finish went to German international Hanna Klein who clocked 8:36.42.
Athletics commentator Alex Seftel described the incident as an unreal one.
"Drama in France as Diribe Welteji 🇪🇹 stops a lap too early and is told to keep running
"She still wins with the fastest 3000m time in the world so far this short year, 8:33.44. One for the list of ‘surreal things I’ve commentated on," he ended
The runner who informed her that she had one lap to go received a lot of praise from the fans for her sporting spirit.
Kenyan-born BBC sports journalist Katami Michelle described the unidentified runner as a winner.
“Ethiopia’s Diribe Welteji stopped with a lap to go. She was told to keep running, and she still won. The runner who pushed her back on track is a winner also. Why we love this sport,” read her statement.