Sir Philip Sidney accomplished many fine things in his all too brief life, among them the poetic composition of Astrophel and Stella. But what has he got to do with the German bobsleigh team, I hear you ask?

Well, nothing became Sidney's life like the leaving of it. As he lay shot through the thigh and mortally wounded at the Battle of Zutphen in 1586, Sidney – it was said – gave his water to another wounded soldier alongside him, with the words: "Thy necessity is yet greater than mine."

That noble instinct has had its echo in all areas of human life, including sport, where this week Germany's former world bobsleigh champion Manuel Machata has been banned for a year and fined €5,000 (£4,100/$6,900) for causing "great damage" to the interests of the German Bobsleigh Luge and Skeleton Federation (BSD).

Had Sir Philip Sidney been a bobsleigher, he would certainly have lent his sled to a fellow competitor in need ©Hulton Archive/Getty Images

His crime? The loaning of equipment to Russian rival Alexander Zubkov, who went on to win two gold medals at the recently concluded Sochi Winter Games.

Machata, who won gold as part of the four-man team at the 2011 World Championships, was not selected for the Sochi Games, and privately lent his own sled to Zubkov, Russia's Opening Ceremony flagbearer.

Manuel Machata has been fined and banned for what some view as an Olympic gesture ©AFP/Getty Images

As things turned out, Germany, despite enjoying a bumper medal spree in the Black Sea resort, went without a bobsleigh medal at an Olympics for the first time since Innsbruck 1964.

It was at those very Winter Games where the most obvious sporting echo of Machata's actions took place, when Italy's world bobsleigh champion Eugenio Monti loaned the British pair of Tony Nash and Robin Dixon an axle bolt after theirs had broken during their opening run.

The British pair then came from behind to overhaul the Italian pairing of Sergio Zardini and Romano Bonagura, pushing them down to silver medal position ahead of their fellow countrymen – Monti and Sergio Siorpaes.

For Monti, despite the medal finish, there was no retribution from the Italian Federation. Quite the reverse, in fact, as his actions earned him the exceptional award of the Pierre de Coubertin Fair Play Trophy from the International Olympic Committee.

Eugenio Monti's 'lend' of bobsleigh gear won him an IOC award ©AFP/Getty Images


Four years later, at the Winter Games in Grenoble, Monti's joy was complete as, after winning two Olympic silvers and two bronzes, the 40-year-old finally got his hands on a gold in the two-man bob with Luciano De Paolis. "Now I can retire a happy man," Monti said.

Manuel Machata? Not such a happy man right now.

The BSD insist their actions have been in the "national interest" of their team.

"Of course we are aware that sleds were traded internationally in the past," says BSD President Andreas Trautmann.

"This procedure I've always been critical of.

"We will take the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi as an opportunity to set clear rules for German athletes in our regulations."

Alexander Zubkhov had a golden profit from Machata's donation in Sochi ©Getty Images

As you might expect, there has been considerable sympathy for Machata, with some observing that his actions exemplified "the real spirit of Olympism".

This touches a profound strand within sporting endeavour. Down the years, some of the most reverently celebrated actions of sportsmen and women have been not to do with winning – indeed, often to do with losing. But the actions have been honourable. Selfless even.

Golf, arguably the sport which most faithfully retains the spirit of fair play, has offered two classic examples.

At the US Open in 1925, Bobby Jones – who won 13 majors between 1923 and 1930 – called a one-stroke penalty on himself when his ball moved fractionally in the rough as he addressed it. No one else witnessed this. And the noble American went on to lose the title by one shot. When congratulated on his honesty, Jones responded: "You might as well praise a man for not breaking into banks."

Bobby Jones showed outstanding sportsmanship at the US Open in 1925 ©Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Forty-four years later, at the tense climax of the Ryder Cup between Britain and the United States, a youthful Tony Jacklin needed to hole a two-foot putt to tie the match. Jack Nicklaus conceded the shot, telling Jacklin afterwards: "I didn't think you were going to miss that putt, but I didn't want to give you the opportunity." The world applauded – although not all of Nicklaus' US team-mates joined in...

The Summer Olympics, too, have witnessed many examples of honour – notably at the 1932 Games in Los Angeles, when 21-year-old British fencer Judy Guinness was declared the winner of her final against Ellen Preis, but exchanged silver for gold when she pointed out to the judges that they had missed two of the Austrian's hits. Like Jones, Guinness felt this was simply a Preis that had to be paid...

But is the Machata case simply a case of selflessness being squashed by selfishness?

The chain of events his actions have precipitated says much about the way sport has evolved internationally since those innocent days of 1964.

Two factors make judgement a little less than clear-cut. Firstly, Machata loaned Zubkov his sled for a fee – not something Monti concerned himself with on that day in Innsbruck. It does make the whole thing feel less like a gesture and more like a transaction.

And secondly, well, things are just very different nowadays. International bobsleigh federations are spending thousands on incremental technical advances to their equipment, to the point where it might almost be sensible to have a parallel constructors' championship in the manner of Formula 1 racing.

Clearly the BSD is determined to prevent any such "flexibility" occurring in future – although in Machata's defence, it was his own personal sled that was lent.

So is that it for the generous sporting gesture between rival nations? Must all instances now necessarily be deemed as damaging to national interests? One hopes not.

It has been reported that the Sochi Winter Games produced several instances of selflessness, notably when German skiers and biathletes were lent kit by the Russian team after encountering problems with their own gear.

Perhaps then we are still some way from living in a world where the only permissible position can be summed up in the words: "My necessity is yet greater than thine..."

Mike Rowbottom, one of Britain's most talented sportswriters, covered the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics as chief feature writer for insidethegames, having covered the previous five summer Games, and four winter Games, for The Independent. He has worked for the Daily Mail, The Times, The Observer, The Sunday Correspondent and The Guardian. His latest book Foul Play – the Dark Arts of Cheating in Sport (Bloomsbury £12.99) is available at the insidethegames.biz shop. To follow him on Twitter click here.