Sportsmanship knows no bounds between fellow athletes, even at the most crucial of moments.
Dynamo Kiev captain Oleg Gusev became unconscious and swallowed his tongue after clashing with Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk’s goalie about 22 minutes into the game. Dnipro midfielder Jaba Kankava reacted instantly and came to Gusev’s assistance. He managed to clear Gusev’s throat before any doctors were able to get to him.
At that moment, the color of the jerseys between these two Ukrainian Premier League rivals didn’t matter.
Gusev was eventually carried off the field on a stretcher, where Dynamo’s doctor, Leonid Myronov, determined that he suffered from a concussion and several bruises, but was lucky not to have any “breaks or fractures.”
“I can assert that Kankava has saved [Gusev’s] life,” Chief of Dnipropetrovsk Hospital Boris Radutsky told reporters. “It’s hard to predict the consequences if Kankava didn’t react so fast. Luckily, he acted like an experienced paramedic.”
Photo via BiathlonUA/YouTube