skip navigation

High School Runner Forgets About Winning to Stop, Help Legally Blind Runner Who Fell

By Elizabeth Doran, Syracuse.com, 10/19/18, 12:00PM PDT

Share

"It was one of those moments that kinda of makes your day,'' she said. "Jake is a really good kid, and I'm not surprised he did it."

Cazenovia High School sophomore Jake Tobin had about 200 meters left to go in the boys' junior varsity race during Saturday's Auburn invitational when another runner passed him. The other runner - Luke Fortner, a Fairport High School senior who is legally blind  - passed Tobin as they were running up the final steep hill in the race.

The crowd was cheering Fortner on, and then suddenly he slipped in the mud and fell down. Without hesitation, Tobin - who also had been cheering for Fortner - put his arms around  Fortner and helped lift him up as Fortner's aide also came to the rescue, parents and coaches said. The three then crossed the finish line.