London, Sep 2 (IANS) The Olympic Stadium thundered as 80,000 spectators applauded injured Djibouti runner Houssein Omar Hassan when he stumbled across the finish line in the men’s 1,500m heat at the Paralympics.
Hassan, Djibouti’s sole athlete at the Paralympics, came last in Saturday’s race in 11 minutes and 23.50 seconds, over six minutes behind the second-to-last finisher, Xinhua reported.
Nevertheless, no one regarded the 35-year-old as a loser.
It is the first time Djibouti is taking part in the Paralympic Games.
Hassan, without his right arm, had injured his foot right before the heat. But he decided to compete despite the injury.
While other finishers began to be interviewed by journalists, Hassan was still jogging alone on the track.
The spectators stood up and clapped hands rhythmically for his heroic performance as he neared the finish.
