They may not have won the gold, but these all-star athletes certainly won hearts during an incredible display of sportsmanship at the women’s 5,000 meter race semifinal. D’Agostino collided with Hamblin at the 3,200 mark when Hamblin slowed for a moment to give space to another runner.
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“We’re not going to remember how we felt in a race, Abbey is not going to remember how bad her knee hurt”, Hamblin said. “We have to finish this”. We have to finish this, ” Hamblin said.
“I am so grateful to Abbey for doing that for me”.
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) – The 5,000-meter runner whose act of friendship captured the Olympic spirit will not return to the track in Rio after tearing ligaments in her knee.
“Someone had to go help her”, Hamblin said of her act, “And if I could even give her one per cent back of what she gave me when she helped me get off the track, that would be incredible”. Such an incredible woman.
When runners Abbey D’Agostino, from the USA, and Nikki Hamblin, from New Zealand, collided and fell to the track 3km into the in 5km heats, rivalry was thrown out of the window. Seeing that D’Agostino appeared to have injured her ankle in the earlier collision and had tumbled to the track, Hamblin slowed down to help encourage her to finish.
The two seemingly sacrificed any chance at an Olympic medal to help each other reach the finish line, picking each other up, urging each other to continue, pushing each other to the finish. “I told her to get up, dust herself off, have a quick look around and then get right back to running”.
Both women finished the race, but D’Agostino did so while visibly in pain.
They were both given places in the 5,000 final after protests from the USA and New Zealand teams.
“I’ve never met this girl before”, Hamblin said, according to the New York Daily News.
D’Agostino’s fall, and what happened after, became one of the stories of the Games.
Abbey D’Agostino uses a wheelchair to get off the track Tuesday.
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Hamblin initially ran with D’Agostino but pulled away after some time. And I know that she’s young and she’s going to have so many more opportunities.
