It was the final part of the 2016 World Triathlon Series in Mexico. W    1     just 700 metres to go, Alistair Brownlee was in the third place and his younger brother, Johnny, was in the l    2     . Alistair pushed himself towards the finish line in the burning heat, but as he came round the corner, he saw his brother a    3     to fall onto the t    4    . Alistair had to choose—brotherly love, or a chance to win the race?

For Alistair, the choice was clear. His brother was in trouble. He had to help. Alistair ran towards Johnny, caught him and started pulling him towards the finish line. Alistair then p    5     his brother over the line. The move put Johnny in second place and Alistair himself in third. It was an u    6     end to the race, but Alistair did not want to discuss it with the m    7     . He just wanted to see his younger brother, who had been rushed to the m    8     area.

The Brownlee brothers have been doing triathlons since they were children. “O    9     , when your older brother is doing it, you think it's a cool thing to do," says Johnny. Alistair says that they encourage each other as much as they can when they train. D    10     arguments over “stupid things" now and then, Alistair agrees that having a brother is an a    11    . “Throughout my e    12     life, I've had my brother trying to beat me at everything I do. It has been an e    13    . positive force."

Watched by millions, the ending to the race has d    14     opinions: should the brothers have been disqualified or highly praised for their actions? But for Alistair, this decision was easy to explain: “Mum wouldn't have been happy if I'd left Johnny behind.” At that moment, he was no longer an athlete a    15     for a medal—he was just a brother.