A beautiful moment was captured at the Olympics this week when a pair of competitors came together after a painful crash. Abbey D’Agnostino of the United States of America and Nikki Hablin of New Zealand collided while running in the women’s 5,000 meter race.
D’Agnostino stopped to help up her Hablin before both women attempted to rejoin the pack, but something went wrong. Within seconds D’Agnostino collapsed back onto the track suffering a painful ankle injury. Instead of leaving her injured opponent, Hablin turned to help D’Agnostino back onto her feet. Wincing against incredible pain, D’Agnostino told Hablin to leave her and that she probably couldn’t finish the race. Hablin stayed behind, losing more and more time, and encouraged D’Agnostino to fight through the pain.
D’Agnostino managed to regain her footing and limped through the race coming in dead last behind Hablin, who she found waiting to embrace her at the finish line. The competitors from different countries didn’t come close to winning a medal today, but they did something much more important. They demonstrated the true purpose of the games, to bring the people of the world together through competition and good sportsmanship in what may be the most inspirational moment of the 2016 Olympic games.