John Landy had the mile world record in the bag. March 1956, Victoria Olympic Park, 22.000 people stood waiting to witness history.
In the middle of the race, a rival fell to the ground right in front of him. Landy didn’t hesitate for a second: he slowed down, turned around, and helped him up, even knowing it would cost him the record.
“I panicked and didn’t think about timing or tactics. I just ran”, he later recalled. What followed sounds like a movie script.
Landy clawed his way back position by position to cross the finish line first, in 4 minutes and 4,2 seconds. That same year he won bronze at Melbourne 1956, and the rival he helped ended up carrying the Olympic flame at the opening ceremony of those Games.
Seventy years later, it remains one of the most memorable acts in sport.