Abbey D'Agostino tore her ACL, meniscus and strained her MCL and STILL finished the 5,000m. https://t.co/zCIBO09zPJ https://t.co/3g3k1lKeiz
— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) August 17, 2016
They hugged as Abbey D’Agostino finished, showing that winning is not always just about finishing first.
RIO DE JANEIRO — New Zealand runner Nikki Hamblin was lying on the track, dazed after a heavy fall and with her hopes of an Olympic medal seemingly over. Suddenly, there was a hand on her shoulder and a voice in her ear: “Get up. We have to finish this.”
It was American Abbey D’Agostino, offering to help.
“I was like, “Yup, yup, you’re right. This is the Olympics Games. We have to finish this,'” Hamblin said.
It was a scene to warm the hearts of fans during a qualifying heat of the women’s 5,000 meters. Hamblin and D’Agostino set aside their own hopes of making the final to look out for a fellow competitor.
It started when D’Agostino clipped Hamblin from behind and they both went sprawling with about 2,000 meters to go.
Hamblin fell heavily on her right shoulder. D’Agostino got up, but Hamblin was just lying there. She appeared to be crying. Instead of running in pursuit of the others, D’Agostino crouched down and put her hand on the New Zealander’s shoulder, then under her arms to help her up, and softly urged her not to quit.
