Spanish triathlete STOPS to let Brit James Teagle cross finish and take bronze after rival’s wrong turn in home stretch

THIS is the incredible moment a Spanish triathlete stopped at the finish line to let his Brit rival take the bronze medal.

Diego Mentrida was trailing James Teagle on the final stretch of the 2020 Santander Triathlon in Barcelona, Spain.

Teagle however took a wrong turn, allowing Mentrida to overtake him just metres from the finish line.

Footage shows the Brit athlete crash into the metal fences as he missed the turning onto the final 100 metres of the course.

Mentrida, 21, then steams past him as Teagle looks visibly frustrated at his error, throwing up his arms.

The Spaniard looks back and notices what has happened as Teagle gives chase to try and claim third place.

In an incredible act of sportsmanship however, Mentrida stops just before the finish line.

He then turns around to greet Teagle as he runs past, with the Brit shaking his hand and going on to claim bronze. .

After the race, Mentrida said: “He was in front of me the whole time. He deserved it.”

He added; “When I saw that he had missed the route, I just stopped. James deserved this medal.

“He didn’t notice the signs or they were misaligned. I don’t know, but the second time I would have acted the same.”

The athlete was awarded an honorary third place and same 300 Euros (£274) prize money as Teagle.

Teagle said he missed the finish chute and sprinted back after realising it after around 50 metres.

He said him and Mentriga were in a straight race to the finish when he crashed into the barrier.

Writing on Instagram, he said: “I crashed into the barrier and thought it was over. @diegomentrida then did the unexpected.

“Having seen what happened he stopped and allowed me to pass showing incredible sportsmanship and integrity!

He added: “Moral of the story is that sportsmanship is a highly regarded trait.

“And British kids pay attention in language class.. or you may end up looking like a fool worldwide.”

Mentrida wrote on Instagram he was “proud” of his actions as the clip went viral as people praised his sportsmanship.

He added: “This is something my parents and my club taught me since I was a child. In my view it should be a normal thing to do.”

One version of clip has been viewed 5.1million times on Twitter, liked almost 186,000 times and shared more than 36,000 times.

Liverpool keeper Adrián San Miguel said on Twitter that Méntrida’s actions exemplified “the real values of sport”.

American basketball star Rex Chapman hailed his actions as “amazing” as he shared the clip with his almost 1million followers.

Race winner Javier Gomez Noya described the athlete’s classy gesture as “the best in history”.

Others hailed Mentrida as an “absolute hero”, a “true champion” and said he chose “compassion and kindness” by giving up the place.