New Zealand distance runner Nikki Hamblin and American runner Abbey D’Agostino came last in their 5,000-meter heat Tuesday after they collided and fell midway through their race. (Getty)
Alex Baker
They may
not have won any medals on the track in Rio, but on Saturday, American
middle-distance runner Abbey D’Agostino and her former opponent Nikki
Hamblin were both awarded special Olympic medals for sportsmanship.
The
two women collided in a heat of the women’s 5,000-meter on Tuesday.
With five laps remaining in the race, Hamblin clipped the heel of the
runner in front of her and tripped, causing D’Agostino to fall over her.
Despite injuring her knee in the fall, D’Agostino managed to help
Hamblin to her feet and made sure she was all right before both
continued the race.
Although
she didn’t know it at the time, D’Agostino had suffered a torn ACL,
sprained MCL and torn meniscus in the fall. Limping heavily as she
continued on in the race, she eventually fell to the track again. This
time it was Hamblin who stopped to make sure her opponent was okay.
“I was on the ground for too long to get back up and catch on to the pack,” Hamblin said in a statement.
“So then it becomes about finishing the race, and finishing the race
well. I am so grateful to Abbey for picking me up, and I think many
people would have returned the favor.”
The
two women both went on to finish the race. Dead last, but they
finished. Both women also protested the result, successfully, and won
places in the 5,000-meter final. But after learning the extent of her
injuries, D’Agostino was forced to drop out. Hamblin finished in last
place.
But on Saturday both received the Pierre de Coubertin medal for athletes, former athletes, sports promoters, sporting officials or others who exemplify Olympic sportsmanship.
The
medal was inaugurated in 1964 and has only been given out 17 times
previously, including three posthumous awards. Vanderlei de Lima, who
lit the cauldron to open the Rio games, was awarded the medal in 2004
for the sportsmanship he showed after getting attacked during the
marathon at the Athens Games.
The International Olympic Committee called
the story of the two runners “one of humanity and sacrifice, which has
already captured the hearts of people across the globe.”
“I
think it’s very special for both Abbey and myself,” Hamblin said after
the ceremony, which was held at the Olympic Club in Rio’s Olympic Park.
“I don’t think either of us woke up and thought that that was going to
be our day, or our race, or our Olympic Games. Both of us are strong
competitors and we wanted to go out there and do our best on the track.”
According to the Olympic Museum,
the medal, also known as the De Coubertin medal or the True Spirit of
Sportsmanship medal, is “one of the noblest honors that can be bestowed
upon an Olympic athlete.”
About HTV Pakistan
0 comments:
Post a Comment