Touching moment rugby player carries terminally-ill teammate in marathon

Hearts melted at the finish of a marathon when Kevin Sinfield picked up his mate Rob Burrow and carried him over the line.

Kevin Sinfield pushed and then carried Rob Burrow at the Leeds marathon. (Photo by Danny Lawson/PA Images via Getty Images)

Kevin Sinfield carried his mate Rob Burrow over the finishing line in emotional scenes at the Leeds marathon.

The two Leeds Rhinos legends have been raising money and awareness for those with Motor Neurone Disease after Burrow became ill with the condition in 2019.

Their inspirational exploits have seen millions of dollars raised in the last few years.

And their latest act saw Sinfield running in the inaugural Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon – and helping his friend Burrow around the course.

Their race culminated with Sinfield picking up and carrying Burrow over the line at the end of the race.

The moment sparked huge cheers and emotional applause from those watching on.

Rob Burrow and Kevin Sinfield approach the finish line. (Photo by Danny Lawson/PA Images via Getty Images)

Sinfield, 42, gave Burrow a peck on the cheek before preparing to return him to his chair.

Fans were moved by the scenes, with one person on Twitter hailing Burrow as an “absolute gem of a human”.

While another hailed the rugby league duo as a “pair of absolute heroes”.

Sinfield previously told the Sun: “There’ll be 12,500 people running, hopefully 100,000 lining the streets.

Rob Burrow and Kevin Sinfield cross the finish line. (Photo by Danny Lawson/PA Images via Getty Images)

“Even if it was just Rob and I, we’d have a great time – there’s no better way to do it than with your mate. The fact people want to share in it and do their own little bit is incredible.

“This will be with mates, for mates and alongside mates, absolutely. Look across the world at big cities where marathons are run, there’s nothing like this.

“We’ve not done any training. We ran a 10km together last July and that’s part of the challenge, doing something neither of us have done before. The unknown adds to the fun of it.

“He’s in a custom-made chair but it could be a bumpy ride. I’ll try and find him the safest, comfiest route but if there are hills, there are hills. If it rains, it rains.”

The marathon named in Burrow’s honour is the latest extraordinary feat of Sinfield.

He has previously completed seven marathons in seven days, a 163km continuous run in 24 hours and seven ultra marathons in seven days, from Murrayfield to Old Trafford.

Amid all his charity work, he still finds time to be England’s rugby union defence coach after switching codes to join Steve Borthwick’s international set-up last year.

This article was originally published by The Sun and reproduced with permission