The Olympic Spirit shines through when these runners crash out of the race
The Olympic Games are an amazing opportunity to watch the athletes of the world perform at their highest level. But what is also on show are the moments of true sportsmanship and camaraderie.
We saw one of these moments in Rio during the second heat of the women’s 5,000m between New Zealand’s Nikki Hamblin and the US runner, Abbey D’Agostino.
Following a crash late in the second heat, D’Agostino injured her leg. Instead of racing ahead to regain her position, Hamblin helped her fellow runner up and helped her finish the race.
While it looks like the New Zealand runner was the hero Hamblin gave D’Agostino all the credit for helping her finish the race. D’Agostino encouraged Hamblin to keep running, telling her that she had to get up after the first fall.
'That girl is the Olympic spirit right there,' Hamblin said.
'Regardless of the race and the result on the board, that's a moment that you're never ever going to forget for the rest of your life, that girl shaking my shoulder, like 'Come on, get up'.'
'I've never met this girl before, and isn't that just so amazing, such an amazing woman.'
They crossed the line well behind the other competitors - but it was clear from the standing ovation that everyone knew who the real winners were.
