As Kevin Sinfield lifted Rob Burrow out of his wheelchair and cradled him in his arms, Abi Burton could feel the tears coming.
Sinfield was a couple of paces from completing the Leeds Marathon, staged to raise funds for a specialist Motor Neurone Disease Care Centre in Burrow’s name in the city.
He held his stricken team-mate before kissing him on the cheek. Together, the pair crossed the finish line.
“I won’t lie, I cried my eyes out,” said Burton, who last night joined Ed Slater, another MND sufferer, in succeeding Sinfield as co-recipients of the Rugby Players’ Association Blyth Spirit Award, which recognises courage in the face of adversity.
“Kevin is a massive inspiration to me, Rob too. I’m from Leeds, My dad played and coached league, my twin brothers Joe and Oli went through the Rhinos’ academy. Joe was coached by Rob before Rob became ill.
"To see how quickly Rob's deteriorated yet he’s still out there fighting. That’s the thing with sports people who become ill, they always fight. I hope I embody some of that.”
For those new to her story Burton is a rugby union sevens player who represented Great Britain at the Tokyo Olympics.
In June last year, sitting at the dinner table with her mum, she suffered her first fitting seizure.
In the days that followed her behaviour went from “timid” to “really aggressive”. There were more seizures and, with doctors thinking she had stress-induced psychosis, she found herself sectioned.
Burton's condition continued to deteriorate until a chance encounter with a researcher ended in her being diagnosed her with autoimmune encephalitis, a condition in which the body's immune system mistakenly attacks the brain.
Knowing that was one thing, treating it another. With her body unresponsive to sedation she was placed in an induced coma. The initial four-day plan became three and a half weeks.
“I lost 20 kilos while I was asleep,” she said. “When I woke up I couldn’t walk, I couldn’t really talk.”
Burton is now back playing, targeting next summer’s Olympics whilst conceding she will never return to where she was “because of the nature of illness and brain injury I had”.
She is not okay with that but her recent journey has equipped her with a healthy perspective.
“I feel proud that I went to the Olympics,” said the 23-year old. “But playing again after a life-threatening illness, and being able to raise awareness of encephalitis, is the most proud I’ve felt in my entire life.
“This award isn’t just for me,” she added. “It’s for mum and dad, who were there for me every single day, for my brothers and my partner.
“It doesn’t just recognise my journey, it recognises the journey we have gone through as a family.”
Other Eterlast RPA Award winners - Players' Player of Year: Jasper Wiese (Leicester). Young Player: Tom Pearson (London Irish). England Player of Year: Freddie Steward . England Women's Player of Year: Sadia Kabeya .
