A Spanish swimmer has received worldwide praise after sacrificing his chance at a medal to offer a poignant tribute to victims of last week's terror attack in Barcelona.
Last Thursday (local time), a group of jihadists carried out a spate of attacks on the city's Las Ramblas boulevard, leaving at least 15 dead and injuring more than 100.
Fernando Alvarez, who was in Budapest, Hungary for the FINA World Masters Championships when the attack occurred, wished to observe a minute's silence ahead of his 200m breaststroke final.
However when he floated the idea to event organisers, they ignored him - and when he spoke to the event director on race day, he said they were unable to due to time constraints.
However by that point, Alvarez had already resolved to hold a tribute in spite of the competition's rules.
In footage from the event, he can be seen staying put as his competitors dive into the pool and holding his hands up to show that it was a deliberate act.
He did eventually start his swim about a minute after the rest of the field, and came in dead last due to the delay - but he had no regrets over his decision.
"It's something that has affected us all, particularly because of the distance and because I have family there. I really think it would have been a good detail," he said.
"I stayed. I left a minute later. But I do not care, I was feeling it more than if I won all the gold in the world."
Newshub.
