Why Selfless London Marathon Runner Sacrificed His Race for Complete Stranger

Mathew Rees (left) with David Wyeth. Photo. Imago

Why Selfless London Marathon Runner Sacrificed His Race for Complete Stranger

Evans Ousuru 20:35 - 27.04.2025

After more than seven years, it has finally been revealed why a selfless London marathon runner sacrificed his race to help a complete ranger.

A selfless runner produced one of the London Marathon's most iconic moments at the 2017 race.

Matt Rees stopped to help complete stranger David Wyeth complete the final 200m in the capital according to TalkSPORT.

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The finishing line was in sight before Wyeth's legs gave way due to exhaustion. With the Chorlton Runners athlete barely able to continue, he began to walk before struggling to remain standing.

This prompted Rees to stop and help his fellow runner as they approached the finishing line. "We'll cross the line together," Rees said as he as he put his arm around Wyeth.

"I came round the final corner and I saw a runner struggling, his legs were collapsing beneath him. Every time he tried to get up, he kept on falling back to the ground.

"I went over to him and said 'come on, you can do this' and tried to gee him up. But every time he tried to get up, I realised he wasn't going to make it."

He added: "So I put his arm around mine and we walked it to the line. The crowd were incredible, they were cheering us on."

A race official joined them to aid their efforts as the crowd applauded and cheered on the trio.

Prince William was amongst those watching on as they made their way towards the line. They ultimately finished the race in a time of 2:52:26, with Rees losing numerous places due to his sacrifice.

Wyeth was immediately attended to by paramedics after they crossed the finishing line.

Meanwhile, Wyeth and Rees started the 2018 race together a year later.