Arrogant Runner Decides to Show Off in Celebration before the Finish Line and Learns Instant Lesson

A triathlete thought he had the race in the bag and stopped a few meters before the finish line only to have one of the competitors steal the race from behind and boot him to second place.

Mateo Bustos was already celebrating his victory in the last few meters leading up to the finish line when one of his competitors zoomed past him and snatched the gold out of his hand.

The triathlete was doing his winning cheer in the final straight of the race in Sagunto in Spain's eastern Valencia Province, only to be bitterly disappointed by the second-place medal he won in the end.

TOO COCKY

A bystander captured Bustos starting to cheer as he thought the win was definitely his. Then, the athlete slowed down and cheered for the crowd moments before the real winner zoomed past him and over the finish line.

Dumbfounded at the moment, the athlete grabs his head in disbelief as the crowds start shouting at him as he watches his first place slip away. One woman can be heard shouting:

"No way! How can he do such a thing? I told him 'run or he'll catch you up'."

VIRAL LOSS

Not only did the triathlete have to deal with his embarrassing loss in front of all the spectators, but the footage of the moment went viral, resulting in tens of thousands of people viewing and commenting on the race.

The comment section of the post was flooded with comments. While some people said that Bustos should have known better than to give up so close to the end, others criticized his opponent for bad sportsmanship for not letting him win.

UNDETERRED ATHLETE

Although the race didn't end in Bustos' favor, he didn't seem too bothered by the embarrassing loss. Instead, he took to social media later that week to share a celebratory post for his second place.

He shared a string of snaps taken while he was competing in the race, showcasing his running and biking legs of the race and a happy picture taken after the race.

NOT THE FIRST TIME

Bustos isn't the first athlete to suffer from too much confidence in front of the finish line. In 2015, Oregon Senior Tanguy Pepiot thought he had sealed the deal and was cheering over his victory when another competitor snagged first place.

The Pepsi Team Invitational saw Washington's Meron Simon step onto first place on the podium, and Pepiot took a humble second place next to him.