system
Perform all tasks and answer all questions accurately and completely.
human
Identify and correct any awkward sentence structure in the following sentence: "Despite finishing the race in last place, the athlete was praised by the crowd for his perseverance."

Input:
The athlete was praised by the crowd for his perseverance, even though he finished the race in last place.
gpt
The athlete, despite finishing the race in last place, was praised by the crowd for his perseverance.