- A crowd of Olympic officials waited and cheered on the last-place finisher in the 50km race walk.
- Claudio Villanueva Flores finished an hour behind the winner and 29 minutes behind the second-to-last finisher.
- Villanueva Flores cried after crossing the line and was consoled by a man who appeared to be his coach.
Ecuador's Claudio Villanueva Flores did not give up in the men's 50 kilometer race walk at the Tokyo Olympics, despite finishing well behind the rest of the field.
The 33-year-old finished with a time of 4 hours, 53 minutes, 9 seconds, more than an hour behind the first-place finisher and 29 minutes behind the second-to-last competitor.
When Villanueva Flores reached the finish line, a crowd of Olympic officials waited for him, applauding him and cheering him on.
According to Eurosport, other racers had already left the scene.
Villanueva Flores crossed the finish line and doubled over in tears, likely a mix of being emotionally overwhelmed and physically exhausted.
As medical officials brought him water and ice, Villanueva Flores struggled to compose himself and kept walking around the finish line.
A man who appeared to be Villanueva Flores' coach then ran over to him and hugged him as Villanueva Flores began to cry again.
In his previous Olympic appearance, Villanueva Flores finished 45th at the Rio Olympics with a time of 4:19:33.
He did not finish the race at world championships in 2019. He did, however, win the race at the Lima 2019 Pan American Games.
In what may have been the final 50km race walk in Olympic history - the event will not be held at Paris 2024 and faces an uncertain Olympic future - Villanueva Flores embodied the Olympic spirit.