Olympic Spirit ~ Amidst Hot Exchanges Runners D'Agnostino of USA and Nikki Hamblin of New Zealand Display Rare Quality
Posted on the 16 August 2016 by Sampathkumar Sampath
The mission of
Olympic Spirit is "to build a peaceful and better world in the Olympic
Spirit which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship,
solidarity and fair play’.
Sad the Tripura girl Dipa
Karmakar was defeated. Three women
finished ahead of her. To us it is
indeed a great achievement – the Nation is not keen on knowing why she lost,
but we sincerely appreciate her effort in coming thus far against heaviest
odds. Thanks to a 23-year-old from
Tripura, India had discovered that “the essential thing is not to have
conquered but to have fought well.” A
couple of days earlier, Indian archer
Atanu Das lost out to World no.8 Lee Seung-Yun in the pre-quarter finals and it
was in some ways the cruellest of losses amid heavy rains that forced him to
take off his signature glasses. In the ranking round, he came 5th and won the round of 64 and round of 32, and
looking extremely unflappable along the way. Taking aim amid heavy rain, Atanu
went down 4-6 to World No.8 Lee Seung-Yun, who had already helped South Korea
win the team gold at the event. He
wrote: “Thank you everyone, I lost the match but there are thousands of good
wishes and comments, so I feel that I didn’t lost the match, yes that was a
good match... I will show the world again my love about archery, I will show a
good archery again and again.... #JaiHind”
Much happening at
Rio … and more on athletic field !! Usain Bolt's bid for a triple-triple is on
track after winning his preliminary heat
in the 200 meters on Tuesday. After
winning a gold medal in the 100-meter dash for a third consecutive Olympics,
Bolt has turned his focus to lowering his world record mark of 19.19 seconds in
the 200-meters - his favorite race. On
Tuesday, he powered out of the blocks and ran hard out of the curve before
slowing down to win heat 9 in 20.28 seconds.
Yesterday, America's Allyson Felix looked set to win the
400-meter dash but she was edged out of
first place by that last minute dive
from Bahamian sprinter Shaunae Miller. After the race, it took Felix nearly an
hour before she could confront reporters, as she told them of her extreme
disappointment at failing to bring back another gold for Team USA. Her new silver medal makes her the most
decorated female American in Olympic track & field history, ahead of Jackie
Joyner-Kersee.
The Egyptian judo
star who refused to shake the hand of his Israeli opponent after their
heavyweight bout at Rio 2016 was sent home in disgrace. Islam El Shehaby lost Friday’s fight against
Or Sasson and was told to leave by his own team – as well as being reprimanded
by the International Olympic Committee. El Shehaby, 32, said he did not want to
shake hands with an Israeli for ‘personal reasons’, nor was he obliged to do so
under judo rules.
In another ugly
spat, the silver medallist of the women's marathon 10km has been disqualified after she wrestled with
another competitor who came third. The drama happened as France's Aurelie
Muller and Italy's Rachele Bruni crossed the line. Muller appeared to grapple
Bruni out of the way in the nail-bitingly close finish, to come second. But her
glory was short-lived as she was stripped of her medal-winning position for her
role in the incident.
Elsewhere, Netherlands hockey star Kitty van Male fell to
her knees as she was whacked at Rio 2016. 28-year-old forward grimaced as she was
clobbered in the face by Argentina's Agustina Habif in rain ~ however, her Dutch team celebrated a quarter-final win
as they set up a semi-final game against Germany.
Amidst
these news, two athletes have provided one of the most inspirational moments of
the Rio Olympics so far when they tripped over each other in the women's 5,000
metres - then helped one another to carry on. American Abbey D'Agnostino and
Nikki Hamblin of New Zealand were 3,000m into the race when D'Agnostino
appeared to clip Hamblin's heel, sending both tumbling to the ground. But
instead of appearing frustrated that their dreams of glory were apparently
over, both women put on a display of the Olympic spirit that will live on long
after the Games are over.
D'Agnostino badly
twisted her ankle in the tumble but she was able to summon enough strength to
finish the race. D'Agnostino, 24,
immediately got up to help her rival - then, as it became clear that she had a
right ankle injury, Hamblin tried to help her continue. Both athletes attempted
to start chasing after the pack that had left them. But D'Agostino could not
keep going as her knee had apparently twisted awkwardly in the fall. She told
Hamblin to go on as she collapsed on to all fours on the track. But the camera
then came back to D'Agostino and she was back on her feet and running again.
Almaz Ayana won the
heat in 15:04.35, and Hamblin, who continued on as well, ran 16:43. D'Agostino,
who has previously run 15:03 in the event, finished last in 17:10.02. Despite finishing the race in the two last
places, both women embraced as though they'd won gold and silver. The inspirational moment encapsulated the
Olympic spirit. D'Agostino was then
taken away in a wheelchair, but still managed a smile. She was later taken for
an MRI scan.
With regards – S.
Sampathkumar
16th Aug
2016.
News & photos
from various articles of Daily Mail UK.