People Call Runner Pedro Arieta The ‘Real’ Boston Marathon Winner After He Sacrificed His Time To Help A Collapsed Runner Cross The Finish Line
He may have sacrificed his personal record, but he's brought hope and inspiration to millions in the process.
RUN 4 FFWPU | Pexels | Canva Pro The essence of sports is winning, or at least that's what many people would say. But it seems for Brazilian runner Pedro Arieta, it's far more about a shared sense of accomplishment and camaraderie than an actual score, and he just gave up his own lifelong running goal to prove it.
Pedro Arieta sacrificed his own Boston Marathon time to help a collapsed runner over the finish line.
For many runners, the Boston Marathon is the holy grail and one they'll never actually experience in person. The race is one you have to qualify for, and your time at Boston in turn qualifies you for many other elite contests, including the Olympic Games.
Which is part of why Brazilian runner Pedro Arieta has become such a sensation in recent days. Just 200 meters from the finish line at the 2025 Boston Marathon, held April 21, he stopped his own race to help a fellow athlete finish his.
The runner, Shawn Goodwin, had succumbed to the extraordinary fatigue that comes with running a marathon just over 650 feet from the finish. That's only about 1/10th of a mile, a two- to three-minute walk. But try as he might, he couldn't get on his feet. Until his fellow runner approaches, that is.
When Arieta came by, he stopped his own race to stoop down and carry the man to his feet. They struggled mightily to get going, but eventually, with Arieta's support, the man began shambling toward the finish line once again. Video of the moment, which has gone wildly viral, has left the internet in joyful tears.
Arieta missed his Boston Marathon goal by just 1:29, but helping his fellow athlete was more 'meaningful.'
In an Instagram post about his experience, Arieta shared what the moment meant to him and why losing out on his goal was worth every second. "The Boston Marathon surprised me in more ways than one," he wrote. "It reminded me that sport is much more collective than we think."
He went on to say that he was so moved by the "thousands and thousands" of people supporting on the sidelines, from the children cheering everyone on to the families delivering food to runners, that "it was impossible to run past someone who needed help reaching their dream finish line and not help them complete the Boston Marathon."
In the end, Arieta finished the marathon in an extraordinary 2:41:29, just one minute and 29 seconds shy of his goal, and a small enough margin that it doesn't seem implausible he would have hit his goal had he not helped Goodwin.
But as Arieta put it in his Instagram post, "it reminded me that sport is much more collective than we think," a sentiment his wife, professional runner Luiza Crave de Azevedo, echoed in a response to her husband's post. "This to me is the essence of sport," she wrote. "You dreamed about a sub-2:40 and when you were ALMOST there, God used you to lose a few minutes and do something with much more meaning."
People are now calling Arieta the 'real' winner and petitioning for him to be given an award.
Arieta's act of selflessness has left people all over the world inspired and moved. "No one will remember their [personal records]. But the world will remember the heart of Pedro Arieta," one commenter on TikTok wrote. "This made me cry! I came across this beautiful video during a hard time in my life and made me smile," another viewer on Instagram said.
It's moved so many people that a petition has been started to give Arieta an award for his act. "In a race where every second counts," the petition reads, "Pedro chose something greater than time: compassion, character, and the spirit of true sportsmanship."
The petition goes on to suggest Arieta be given the 2025 John A. Kelley Award, an award given by a local organization in Virginia to recognize extraordinary sportsmanship and, in the petition's words, "those who inspire through grace, generosity, and strength of spirit."
Whether he's ever rewarded for his generosity or not, Arieta's act is a reminder, especially in these contentious times, of the importance and power of unity and simply being there for one another. There will always be another marathon, after all, but no medal can quite come close to the impact of a moment like this.
John Sundholm is a writer, editor, and video personality with 20 years of experience in media and entertainment. He covers culture, mental health, and human interest topics.
