Against overwhelming odds, a female runner from Kenya came third at the 2015 Austin Marathon and Half Marathon Sunday by crawling on her hands and knees across the finish line.
Hyvon Ngetich, 29, was leading the pack of top female runners at the 23-mile mark, but with victory in sight, exhaustion set in and the Kenyan athlete started to fade.
By the time the finish line came into view, Ngetich’s body began to shut down, but the determined runner was not ready to give up.
Triumph of human spirit: Hyvon Ngetich’s body shut down by the time she got to the home stretch at the Austin Marathon and Half Marathon, but she refused to give up and continued the race on all fours
Inspiring: The 29-year-old runner refused to use a wheelchair and continued crawling
Unable to run anymore, Ngetich collapsed to her knees and proceeded to crawl on all fours, her eyes locked on the finish line.
Race volunteers rushed to Ngetich’s side rolling a wheelchair, but she refused to sit in it. The resolute woman continued to inch down Congress Avenue under the watchful eyes of medical staff, with the crowd cheering her on.
If anyone offered her help, Ngetich would have been disqualified from the race. At one point, the 29-year-old had a pause in order to gather her strength, reported KEYE-TV.
Right before she crossed the finish line, Austin runner Hannan Steffan beat Ngetich for second place. Her compatriot Cynthia Jerop won the race in 2:54:22.
Triumphant: The runner had to take a pause to gather her strength, but she still came in third
Role model: The director of the marathon told Ngetich she ran and crawled the bravest race he’s ever seen
But it was the determined, unyielding Ms Ngetich who won the hearts of spectators Sunday.
‘You ran the bravest race and crawled the bravest crawl I have ever seen in my life. You have earned much honor, and I am going to adjust your prize money, so you get the same prize money you would have gotten if you were second,’ Austin Marathon race director John Conley told Ngetich.
Ngetich’s personal record in the marathon is 2:34:42. Fellow Kenyan athlete Betram Keter won the men’s race in 2:16:21.
Looking back on her inspiring feat, Ngetich said she does not how she managed to finish the race at all.
Mighty heart: Later, Ngetich said she does not remember how she crossed the finish line, but hearing from a race volunteer that she was almost there gave her the strength to stay the course
‘For the last two kilometres, I don’t remember. Finish line… I have no idea,’ said Ngetich.
The 29-year-old runner recalled that what gave her the strength to carry on was hearing from one of the volunteers that she was almost at the finish line.
The Austin marathon is a qualifier for the prestigious Boston Marathon.
